Dr. James Wilson Bullard, beloved husband, father and grandfather, was born April 25, 1935, in Washington, D.C. to the late Dexter M. and Anne W. Bullard.
Jim and his three siblings grew up in Rockville, Maryland, in a house on the grounds of Chestnut Lodge, a Psychiatric Hospital started by his grandfather. He often spoke about how he enjoyed helping the maintenance crew. These activities taught him to be an excellent “handy man.” He also worked as a Psychiatric Aide during the summers.
Jim attended Sidwell Friends for high school where his father and later his sons all graduated. He attended Earlham College in Richmond, Indiana, where he met Beth, who was the love of his life. They graduated in 1958 and were married a few weeks later at the Richmond Quaker Meeting.
Jim and Beth moved to Philadelphia where Jim attended University of Pennsylvania Medical School. Beth worked as a chemist. Jim continued with his Internship, Residency and initial Psychoanalytic training in Philadelphia. Their first son, James Jr., was born in December 1962, and their second son, Greg, in October 1965.
The family moved to Ashton, Maryland, in 1966, where Jim started working in the U.S. Public Health Service at the National Institutes of Health and Mental Health for his alternative service, earning the title of Lieutenant. Beth and Jim purchased Clifton, the oldest house in Montgomery County, Maryland, built in 1742. The restoration of Clifton was a major focus of their lives for more than 20 years. They were active community members and embraced the organizations for historic preservation of the area including Sandy Spring Meeting, The Neighbors, Sand Spring Historical Society, Association (Beth)
Jim returned to Chestnut Lodge as a Staff Psychiatrist from summer 1968 to early 1969. He switched to private practice in Psychiatry and Psychoanalysis in 1969 until the end of 1995.
In 1974, Jim was recruited to serve half-time in the Central Intelligence Agency, where he performed psychiatric evaluations of terrorists, defectors and hostages. He developed hostage negotiations guidance. He retired from the CIA in 1993 and started consulting on evaluations of Nuclear, Biological, Chemical and WMD threats for the government.
In 2000, Jim helped establish a psychiatric clinic in remote Nicaragua, along with Beth who served as Spanish interpreter. He worked Locum Tenens in North Carolina and Alaska until 2009.
Jim served in many community organizations, including being on the board of Glenelg Country School 1970-1980, Sandy Spring Friends School 1980-1986, Friends House Retirement Community 1992-1998, and High Rocks Academy 2000-2005.
Jim and Beth retired to Pocahontas County in the late 1990s and lived there until November 2024, when they moved to California to be near their family.
Jim and Beth loved birding, participating in surveys around West Virginia every winter and spring for many years. They were avid supporters of the Brooks Bird Club. They also loved backpacking and canoeing. They backpacked across the eastern U.S., including Isle Royale and the Appalachians, and took multi-day canoe excursions in southern Florida and the Georgian Bay. Jim also loved rock climbing and, in high school and college, climbed in British Columbia, the U.S. and the Dolomites in the Alps.
Jim and Beth had a passion for wild orchids, working to survey and preserve natural habitats for rare varieties of these beautiful flowers. They were so excited to have a few varieties of rare orchids on their property.
In addition to his parents, he was preceded in death by a son, James Jr., in 1998.
Jim is survived by his wife of 67 years, Elizabeth Ann Bechtol Bullard; son, Gregory Toland Bullard, and wife, Anne Dobbins Bullard; grandsons, Charles Taylor Bullard and Peter Maurer Bullard, who were frequent and cherished visitors to Pocahontas County while they were growing up; and a sister, Rose Dyrud of Chicago.
