Pressley Bullock Obituary

BULLOCK, Pressley Mary Pressley Walsh Bullock, 98, of Allandale Plantation, Wadmalaw Island (formerly of Mt. Pleasant) died October 11, 2007, at the Hospice Center in Mt. Pleasant, SC. She was the widow of Lt. Col. Edward Stanley Bullock. Mrs. Bullock, a former director of Christian Education, librarian, and secretary, was born September 3, 1909, in Walterboro, SC. She was the daughter of the late Mamie Pressley Fishburne Walsh and The Rev. Thomas Tracy Walsh, DD. She grew up in York, SC where her father was the rector of the Episcopal Church of the Good Shepherd and Chaplain for the York Home for Children. Mrs. Bullock attended Winthrop College and graduated from St. Mary's Junior College in Raleigh, NC in 1930. She then attended the Protestant Episcopal Church Training and Deaconess House in Philadelphia, PA and graduated in 1934 with a degree in Social Service Work and Christian Education. After graduation she was employed as a social worker during the Depression at St. Martha's Settlement House in Philadelphia. She moved back to Raleigh and served as the Director of Christian Education at the Church of the Good Shepherd and as the Assistant Librarian at St. Mary's Junior College from 1935-1937. She moved to Charleston and became the Director of Christian Education and secretary at St. Philip's Episcopal Church from 1937-1946. During this time she served as Chairman of the Leadership Training Division of the Diocesan Department of Christian Education and was one of the first directors of Camp St. Christopher. After WWII she married and moved to Jacksonville, FL where her daughter, Mary Agnes, was born. The family returned to SC in 1952 and moved to Mt. Pleasant. While her daughter was young, she worked at home tutoring reading and teaching mentally disabled homebound students for the Charleston County School District. From 1962-1965 she served as the secretary of Whitesides Elementary School. In 1969 she became the research and educational secretary for the Gibbes Museum of Art. Mrs. Bullock was a member of St. Andrew's Episcopal Church in Mt. Pleasant for over fifty years where she served on the altar guild, taught Sunday school, directed Vacation Bible School and sang in the choir. She was active in women's work serving as President of the St. Andrew's ECW and on the Diocesan Women's Executive Board for nine years. She was a member of the Diocesan Executive Council for three years and secretary of the department of Christian Education. She served on the Board of Trustees of St. Mary's Junior College and was vice-president of the St. Mary's Alumnae Association. In her latter years while living on Wadmalaw Island, Mrs. Bullock enjoyed attending St. John's Episcopal Church and Our Island Home Respite Program at The Episcopal Church of our Savior on John's Island. Her interest in history and genealogical research led her to become a member of the Rebecca Motte Chapter of the Daughters of the American Revolution, the Colonial Dames of America, the First Families of South Carolina, and The United States Daughters of the War of 1812. She was also a former member of the French Huguenot Society, the SC Historical Society, the English Speaking Union, and the Alhambra Garden Club. Mrs. Bullock was a devoted wife, mother, and grandmother. She is survived by her daughter, Mary Agnes Bullock Seabrook, of Wadmalaw Island and her husband John Ferrars Seabrook. She has two granddaughters: Virginia Walsh Shearon Bergstrom, wife of Andrew John Bergstrom, of Charleston, and Ann Johnson Shearon Boykin, wife of Alexander Hamilton Boykin, of James Island. She has one great grandson, Patrick Nathaniel Bergstrom. She has one sister Charlotte Congdon Walsh Bailey of Seaford, Delaware. Her nephews are Dr. Norman Sinkler Walsh of Summerville, SC, Dr. William Kershaw Walsh of Auburn, AL, and Richard Stryker Bailey of Sterling, V A. She has one niece, Charlotte Carolina Bailey Toner of Longmeadow, MA. The family will receive friends at McAlister-Smith Funeral Home, 150 Wentworth Street, Charleston from 5:00-7:00 on October 14, 2007. Funeral services for Mrs. Bullock will be held at St. Andrew's Episcopal Church, 440 Whilden Street, Mt. Pleasant, SC at 10:30 AM on October 15,2007. Burial will follow at Christ Episcopal Church Cemetery, Highway 17 North, Mt. Pleasant. McAlister -Smith Funeral Home is in charge of arrangements. Memorials may be made to: St. Andrew's Episcopal Church, (address above); York Place, 234 Kings Mountain St., York, SC 29745; St. Christopher Camp and Conference Center, 2810 Seabrook Island Rd., John's Island, SC 29455-6219; Tamassee DAR School, Inc. PO Box 8, Tamassee, SC 29686-0008; Our Island Home Respite Program, Church of Our Savior, 4416 Bohicket Rd, John's Island, SC 29455; St. John's Episcopal Church Building Fund, PO Box 125, John's Island, S C 29457, or Hospice of Charleston, 3870 Leeds Avenue, North Charleston, SC 29405. Visit our guestbook at www.charleston.net/deaths.