Phyllis Bulmer passed away at home on April 13 in Ashland, Oregon at age 93. She lived with her husband Jim in Bridgewater, Vermont for 28 wonderful years at their beloved home, Uppermowing. In 2020 they moved to Mountain Meadows in Ashland to be close to family.
Phyllis was born on October 31, 1930, in Red Bank, New Jersey to Dorothy and Sydney McLean. She grew up on the historic McLean family apple farm in Middletown, NJ where her father taught her to drive a truck around the farm when she was 12. In 1962, when the McLean farm became the set for the movie The Miracle Worker, Phyllis was thrilled to be on set during the filming and loved telling stories about meeting Patty Duke.
Phyllis graduated from Linden Hall Academy in 1948 and Carnegie Mellon University in 1952. Afterward, she moved to New York City where she met Jim. They were married on April 30, 1955, in a church filled with apple blossoms from the McLean farm.
One of the many things that made Phyllis so unique was her adventurous spirit. I think the time it first became evident was after college when she and three friends took a ten week camping trip across the country. From there, that spirit grew. Numerous camping trips exposed her family to all kinds of adventures. The greatest of these took place in 1971, when as a housewife in New Jersey, she got her husband and two young children to go on a week-long canoe trip in the wilderness in Canada. Another manifestation of this contagious spirit was when she started kayaking; friends soon also bought kayaks to go with her and in a short amount of time, a women’s group formed that went out weekly. At summer’s end the group would meet at Squam Lake for a weekend of paddling and celebration. Phyllis also enjoyed traveling the world with her husband. One of her most memorable trips was an adventure cruise to the Arctic Circle.
Phyllis was a lifelong volunteer. She was active in the Junior League of Monmouth County (NJ), King’s Daughters (VT), The Flower Guild of St. James Episcopal Church (VT) and The Ashland Food Project (OR). Phyllis served on the Board of Directors for the Lucy Mackenzie Humane Society (VT) and enjoyed reading to children at Zach’s Place in Woodstock.
Phyllis loved being creative. She and Jim did the finishing work on their home in Vermont. She was an avid knitter and loved telling friends she was “a hooker”. Phyllis made many hooked rugs in her lifetime and enjoyed laughing with her hooking group of friends. Her treasured rugs feature animals, flowers and Vermont landscapes.
Phyllis was a life-long dog lover and advocate. From the Beagle pups she played with as a child on the McLean farm, to her German Shorthair Pointers and Labradors, she always had dog pals. She adored her dogs Herman, Bobo, Jenny, Spot, Stitch, Harvey, Little Bit, Lightning, Luke, Katie and Kevin.
Phyllis is survived by her devoted husband of 67 years, Jim Bulmer, her children Jeb Bulmer and Blair Johnson, her grand-children Chelsea Johnson (Ryan), Caitlin Falzone (Jeff), Clay Johnson and Nathan Bulmer (Julissa), and her great-grandchildren Waylon Bulmer, Rowan Stenson, and Daxton Bulmer.
In lieu of flowers, please consider a contribution in Phyllis’ memory to New England Lab Rescue, Lucy Mackenzie Humane Society, or Zach’s Place.
