Obituary


William was the third son of Lawrence and Virgia Lee Bulkley. Another son and a daughter were added in the next few years. They were part of a very large, loving, extended family which had been part of the Great Migration from the South in the 1920's. They had settled in River Rouge, Michigan, a small suburb of Detroit. They all frequently met together, played together and worshipped together. William had enough cousins in his age group to form their own sports teams. He learned about the Lord as a child while attending Fews Memorial CME Church; he later attended John Wesley Methodist Church where he accepted our Lord, Jesus Christ, as his Savior.

William graduated from River Rouge High School and Wayne University. Soon after graduation he was drafted in the Army and served in Korea. Sadly, although he did not see combat, it was during this period that he began to experience anxiety attacks that troubled him at various periods throughout his life. William's career was as a Recreation Leader for 20 plus years with the City of Detroit. He ran a Rec Center, coached and refereed basketball and other games, and strived to teach positive character traits to hundreds of inner-city youths--many from challenging, deprived backgrounds. He was very proud when years later he would meet some of them and hear that he had contributed to their success.

After retirement, William moved to Long Beach, CA--largely to be re-united with his cousins Booker and Mack Hinton--who were more like brothers to him. It was here that in his 70's he finally met the lady he had been looking for to become his wife--his beloved Herminia Peteros. She served as a devoted help-mate during the remaining both happy times and challenging times--especially after he was incapacitated from a serious automobile accident.

William had great sense of humor. He loved jazz, travelling, and sports--often spending hours arguing the strategy of the games. He was also very much into writing, and had published a novel. Also he had strong political and social beliefs, especially regarding civil rights, and defended these beliefs passionately. He leaves to cherish his memory his wife, Herminia; his brother, Melvin; his sister, Mary Elizabeth Bradford (his brothers Gerald and Trenholm preceded him in death--and he will also be reunited with his dear cousins Booker and Mack, (who preceded him in death recently); and a host of other cousins, nephews, nieces, in-laws, and friends.