Gary Howell Bullard

Gary Bullard lived a full and active ninety years. He grew up on farms in central New Mexico after his family moved there when he was six years old. He told stories of riding horses in the foot hills, plowing with teams of horses, thrashing beans and family gatherings where the thing to do was play dominoes. At seventeen years old he joined the US Marines Corps during WW II. He was stationed on several islands in the Pacific and received the Purple Heart when he landed with the 5th Marine Division on the initial invasion of Iwo Jima. He married Lois Bonnie Davis on March 6, 1944 and they settled in Estancia, NM. There he operated a Conoco bulk plant and an insurance agency. He was a leader in church and civic activities and served as president of the Estancia school board. They moved to Abilene in 1981 and then to Lubbock in 2006. He was an active gardener and for many years raised birds as a hobby. He was a people person, making lots of friends all over New Mexico and Texas.

He was born in Floyd County, Texas on December 30, 1924. He was preceded in death by his wife of 67 years, Lois Bonnie Bullard, two sisters, Norma Spain and Helen Norwood and one brother, Don Bullard. He is survived by two sisters, Stella Pritchett and Sherry Williams, one brother, George Bullard and two sons, Denny Bullard and his wife Patti of Keller, Texas and Randy Bullard of Lubbock, two granddaughters, Dee Anne Muhaisen and her husband, Jamil of Austin, Texas and Laura Scott and her husband, Randy of Amarillo, Texas and three grandsons, Ryan Bullard and his wife Holly, Regan Bullard and his wife Laura and Rusten Bullard and the boys’ mother, Darra McWhirter, all of Lubbock. His great grandchildren are Bradley, Jake, Trey, Mikah, Katy, Riley, Rendon and Rowin.

In 1995, his wife, Lois, helped him record his childhood memories and his experiences during WWII in a book they titled “Lest We Forget.” She ended with this: “To know Gary is to have a friend. If he were not my husband I would want him for my best friend.”