Geraldine Bullock Of Shinnecock Nation Dies July 2

Geraldine (née Vergara) Bullock, known as Geri, of the Shinnecock Nation died on July 2 in Southampton. She was 72.

Ms. Bullock was born in the Bronx on June 5, 1949, to Wanda D. Lacy, née Eleazer. She was raised on the Shinnecock Territory by her grandmother Venus Eleazer until age 12, when she went to live with her mother and stepfather Gilmore N. Lacy on Beck Street in the Bronx.

The eldest of four, Ms. Bullock helped raise her siblings Sandra E. Lacy, Sharon P. Lacy-Sylvester, and Michael N. Lacy, all of Shinnecock. Upon her mother’s death in 1985, Ms. Bullock, only 36, inherited the mantle of family matriarch.

By age 21, Ms. Bullock married her first husband, Gary R. Wade Sr., and moved to Throggs Neck, where they raised three children of their own, Denise L. Wade, of Newburgh, New York, Doreen C. Wade, and Damon R. Wade, both of Shinnecock. The couple divorced in the early 2000s.

Whatever Ms. Bullock set out to do, she approached it with pride and intention, according to her family. She was extremely organized and meticulous. Everything had to be “Geri’s way;” if not, she would not let up until it was so. Ms. Bullock’s siblings, all hard workers, say that Ms. Bullock’s relentless and headstrong determination is the foundation for their own work ethic.

Ms. Bullock had a smile that could light up a room and a feistiness that would let you know she meant business. Her tough love attitude was not reserved solely for family and friends; she further extended her endearing demeanor to countless patients throughout her 42 years as a nurse’s aide.

For 16 years, Ms. Bullock worked at Prospect Hospital, a private facility located less than a block from the family’s Beck Street brownstone. When Prospect closed in 1985, her career relocated to Jacobi Hospital in Morris Park, Bronx. There, she met the love of her life, John Bullock, a hospital police officer. Ms. Bullock worked for 26 years at Jacobi Hospital, alongside her cousin Lynda Hunter.

According to Ms. Hammer, Ms. Bullock “loved, loved, LOVED her work.” She was the kind of nurse who put her whole heart into the job. Secretly referred to by her patients as “drill sergeant,” Ms. Bullock was notoriously known by her coworkers to show up early and pilfer the charts in order to get a jump start on her own shift. Nonetheless, Ms. Bullock was respected and adored equally by both her patients and coworkers for her rigid, though loving bedside manner. With Ms. Bullock in charge, everyone could trust they were in good care.

Mr. and Ms. Bullock married in 2002, and lived in Co-op City, Bronx until Ms. Bullock retired in 2011. They then relocated to her childhood home on Shinnecock Territory and in 2012, they restored and renovated the old family homestead into a home of their own.

Ms. Bullock’s retirement on Shinnecock allowed her to rekindle her time with first cousins Donna M. Eleazer and Lynda Hunter. The three were inseparable in their teenage years, having grown up only blocks away from one another in the Bronx. In their older years, they coined themselves the Golden Girls: Ms. Eleazer was Dorothy, Ms. Hunter was Blanche and Ms. Bullock, of course, was Rose.

When Ms. Bullock wasn’t happily engaged in her favorite personal pastime — cleaning and organizing Ms. Bullock she liked to shop, travel with her husband, and collect photos. Ms. Bullock loved her family profusely. She cataloged numerous photo albums of family trips to the Bahamas, the Caribbean, Vegas, and Florida, to name a few places; as well as documented family events such as weddings, baby showers and other special moments.

In addition to her husband of 19 years; two sisters; two sister-cousins; a brother; and a sister-in-law, all of Shinnecock; Ms. Bullock is survived by an uncle, John “Running Deer” Eleazer of New Jersey; and two brothers-in-law, Robert Sylvester and William Bess Jr., of Shinnecock.

By way of two daughters and a son, Ms. Bullock is also survived by four granddaughters, Dayana S. Terry, Shatahni L. Eleazer, Destiny Wade, and Lanaiya A. Gumbs; four grandsons, Justin J. Eleazer, Zani C. Lee, Damon R. Wade Jr., and Destin L. Faison; and five great-grandsons, Zamarion K. Terry, Zyaire C. Terry, Nausell A. McCoy, Noah S. McCoy and Jiovanni S. Wade. She is also survived by a step-daughter, Tanya Bullock; a step-son, Darryn Bullock; five step-grandchildren; 12 step-great-grandchildren; as well as a host of nieces, nephews, great-nieces, great-nephews, and cousins.

A funeral service was held Saturday, July 11, at the First Presbyterian Church in Southampton. Interment followed at Shinnecock Cemetery. Arrangements were entrusted to Brockett Funeral Home.