Terrie Jean Bullinger (Hartman)

“I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith.” -2 Timothy 4:7 On Wednesday July 24 2024, Terrie Jean Hartman Bullinger returned Home. She reunites in eternity with her Mother Deane, step-father Dick, her brother John Hartman, and step-brothers Jeff Baldwin, and Mark Williams. She is survived by her father Jack and step-mother Carlene, to whom she was a devoted daughter. In life she remains fondly loved and missed by her many siblings, Scott & Pam, Brent & Jennifer, Kim & Jim, Julie & Mike, Jann & Vance, Cindy & Rick, and beloved brother John’s longtime partner in life Crickett Cole. Her memory is carried forever in the hearts and bones and faces of her three adored children; her youngest Daniel, who bravely travelled with her across the oceans, her only daughter Julia, who blessed her with two beautiful grandchildren in Ada and Nora, and her firstborn son Benjamin, who she tirelessly worked to keep out of prison, or worse. She was accompanied on the final adventure of her life by her devoted husband of twenty years Christopher Bullinger to whom she shared home, hearth and heart. In life they pushed each other to do and be the best they could be, true partners and companions to the very end and beyond. She grew up on a farm somewhere near the western shore, and her life carried her through the halls of academia to the city of Detroit, where she became a lawyer and began a career, and life, of selfless service to those who need it most. At Legal Aid of Western Michigan she made lifelong friends out of peers and colleagues, men and women of the same substance whom she proudly served alongside fighting the good fight, and where she won Best Hair by the Grand Rapids Bar Association a record 18 years in a row. She cut a path through the legal wilderness for those who could not, helping countless women and children and families. Her positive effect on the community is truly unknowable. After retiring at the turn of the century, when others would begin to slow down, she rose back up again like Napoleon, crossed the ocean and helped establish American Samoa Legal Aid. There she made lifelong friends and served the community, but this time while wearing sandals to court. She was a wildflower, a 1 of 1, without prophet or precedence. Terrie loved animals, music and the simple pleasures in life. She loved her children, her family, her friends, politics and long discussions over a good drink. She loved movies, laughter, the water lapping at her feet and the wind blowing through her wild, beautiful hair. In the end, she simply loved life, and life loved her back. Seia tatou toe feiloai. The Memorial Service will be celebrated Saturday, August 3, 2024 at 10:30 AM at St. Thomas the Apostle. The family will receive visitors at the church one hour prior to the service.

Tributes

Terrie Jean Bullinger (Hartman)

March 18, 1952 - July 24, 2024