BETTY MORITZ BULLA

1920-2016

Betty Moritz Bulla passed away on September 10, 2016 in Houston, Texas after a short illness, at the age of 96.

She was preceded in death by her husband, Jim, in 2000 after 59 years of marriage. She is survived by her two children, Jim Bulla, of Houston, TX and Kathryn Connor of Petaluma, CA; her brother, Lee E. Moritz, and sister-inlaw, Betty, of Conover, NC; grandchildren, Kathy Fisher of Petaluma, CA, Mark Butler of Miami, FL, and Lauryn Bennett of Lone Tree, CO; two great-grandchildren, Madison and Emma Fisher, of Petaluma, CA; nephews Lee Moritz, Jr. and Michael Moritz of Conover, NC; and niece Elaine Bolick of Hickory, NC.

Betty was born on July 24, 1920 in Hastings, Nebraska to Otto and Ruby Wilson Moritz.

She attended Nebraska public schools and entered the University of NebraskaKearney in 1937 where she completed the requirements to teach grades 1-8. Her first assignment was a 1-room schoolhouse with 16 students spread across eight grades.

Betty met Jim at the university and they married in 1940. They moved to Deaver, WY where he had been hired as the high school physics and math teacher, and head football, basketball, and track coach.

After Jim’s service in the U.S. Navy in WWII, they moved with their two children to Winston-Salem, NC where he started a 28-year career with Western Electric/AT&T. It was the perfect place to raise a family, and Betty greatly enjoyed being a wife and mother, continuing with her love of playing the piano, refinishing antique furniture, and the joy of learning by enrolling in courses at Wake Forest.

In 1976, Jim retired and they built a house in Hudson, Florida on the Gulf Coast. They were both blessed with good health and had many years of golfing, tennis, and traveling with friends and family.

Betty’s favorite trips were to her beloved British Isles. One suitcase was always reserved for books, brochures, and keepsake bookmarks. She played tennis until she was 87, she practiced yoga until she was 89, and she played the piano until she was 92. She made friends wherever she went. She never lost her curiosity about everything.

She deeply loved her husband, children, family and friends, and they loved her in return.

A Memorial Service will be held in Conover, NC at a later date. Condolences may be offered at www.millerfuneral. com