Obituary of John Carl Bulthuis
John Carl Bulthuis, artist, storyteller, and beloved husband, father, grandfather, and great grandfather, passed away peacefully and surrounded by his family on the evening of February 14, 2019. Born January 8, 1919 in the Bronx, John lived to be 100 years old, because, as he said, “I think that it would please me.”
John looked at the world through the eyes of an artist, seeing beauty in rundown buildings, sunsets, and the ordinary people he’d sketch at the grocery store. His legacy lies, at least in part, in the drawings that fill his countless sketchbooks. He studied at The Art Students League of New York. His career as an illustrator began at McGraw Hill Publishing Company. He next drew for the Journal of Medical Economics and later for West Essex Graphics.
One of the great honors of John’s life was serving in the United States Navy as a third class radioman during World War II. John was on duty to receive the wire informing his ship’s captain that the United States had entered the war, and he witnessed the ship’s captain informing his men, “Gentlemen, we are at war.” His beloved ship, the USS Meredith, participated in the Doolittle Raid; John recalled participating in D-Day, gifting his harmonica to a soldier as he disembarked the ship to attack on the beaches of Normandy. Before the Meredith’s final mission, John was ordered off the ship with a case of pneumonia. While he was recuperating on shore, the Meredith was attacked and sunk in ten minutes. John mourned the loss of his shipmates - many of whom are immortalized in the pages of the sketchbooks he kept during the war - for the rest of his life.
His military service was inspired by a deep love for his country which never left him. John always believed in the goodness of Americans: “Americans are kind and good people. We treated our enemies extremely well. If they were wounded, we dressed their wounds. If they were hungry, we fed them. If they were in danger, we saved them...That’s the kind of people we are.”
Eclipsing even his passion for his art and his love of country was his endless devotion to his beloved Dorothy. Married for 72 years, John and Dorothy’s story began at a USO dance in 1943 where John caught sight of a beautiful girl in a red dress, and he was “no longer weary.” Their enduring love represents the best of what marriage can be. For John and his Dorothy, there could never be enough time.
It is difficult to put into words the gift that John was to those who knew him. He was a masterful storyteller, a true gentleman, and as charismatic as they come. He will be dearly missed.
John is preceded in death by his sister, Marie Dallas. He is survived by his wife, Dorothy Bulthuis of Edison, and his two daughters, Deborah Przybylowski-Raggi and her husband, John, of Green Brook, and Janette Ingraham of Lisle, NY.
He is also survived by his grandchildren, Samuel Battles; Abigail Glezen and her husband, Randy; Laura Jones and her husband, Eric; Mark Przybylowski and his wife, Kaya; Kristin Carlson and her husband, Evan; and Veronica Raggi. He is also survived by his great-grandchildren, Cayden, Noah, Juliet, Ada, Siena, Cole, and Avery.
Viewing will take place at 9:00 am on Saturday, February 23 with funeral services beginning at 10:00 am at the Church of the Holy Cross in North Plainfield. Burial will follow at Hillside Cemetery in Plainfield. In lieu of flowers, donations can be made in John’s name to his home church, St. Clement’s Episcopal Church in Hawthorne, NJ.
