Warren G. (“Bud”) Fulk, age 81, of Sullivan, Indiana, passed away Sunday, August 14, 2016, surrounded by his family who had gathered to share Holy Communion with him at Vincennes Good Samaritan Hospice.
Veteran, educator, patriarch, and perennial native southwestern Hoosier, Warren was born September 2, 1934, in Jasonville, Indiana, to the late Warren Gilbert and Grace (Joyce) Fulk. Warren grew up in Washington, Indiana, graduated from Washington High School, and enlisted in the United States Navy on July 14, 1952, becoming a member of the Navy’s Underwater Demolition Teams (“UDT”, first established during World War II and the precursor to today’s Navy Seals) and serving aboard the USS Midway during the Korean War, attaining the rank of Chief Petty Officer, Second Class.
Warren married Jacqueline Ann Western, daughter of Jack and Catherine (Roth) Western, formerly of 1317 Vigo Street, Vincennes, on a rainy Easter Sunday, April 21, 1957. Warren and Ann had just celebrated their 53rd wedding anniversary in 2010 before Ann unexpectedly passed away on April 26, 2010, leaving Warren and family bereft from then on.
After serving our country honorably, and with Ann at his side, Warren (then a Purdue graduate) set about building his family and their first home on 21st Street in Vincennes, teaching at Vincennes Lincoln High School, siring five (5) children, and expanding his work as an educator to Pike as Vice Principal and then Principal at Pike Central High School. From their home on Main Street in Petersburg, Warren and Ann championed the education and educators of Pike County’s young people, graduating all five of their children from Pike Central, and touching many lives along the way. Warren continued his vocation later as a high school principal in Knox, Indiana, as superintendent for Sullivan County’s schools, and later returning to teach inmates within the Indiana Department of Corrections in Plainfield and Greencastle, Indiana. In addition, Warren was a 50+ year member and Worshipful Past Master of Vincennes Masonic Lodge No. 1.
Surviving Warren are his three (3) sons, John Bryan (wife, Gwen) Fulk of Boonville, Matthew Todd (wife, Erika) Fulk of Petersburg, and Steven Thomas (partner, Reuben Craft) Fulk of Indianapolis; two (2) daughters, Shellie Ann (husband, Paul) Kiedrowski of Ft. Worth, TX and Mary Kathryn Holman (partner Patrick Hudson) of Sullivan, 1 sister, Joyce (Fulk, Husband Gene) Williams of Indianapolis. Also surviving are 6 grandchildren, Brett Thomas Fulk, Beau Tyler (wife, Emily) Fulk, Blake Ryan Fulk, Jackson Scott Holman, Seth Elliott Fulk and Sheridan Elaine Fulk, and one great-grandchild Claire Elizabeth Fulk.
Funeral services celebrating Warren’s life will be held on Saturday, August 20, 2016, beginning at 11:00 a.m. at the First United Methodist Church, 411 N. 4th Street, Vincennes (Pastor Paul Wagner, presiding; Steven Fulk, eulogy). Following the service, he will be laid to rest with military honors in Memorial Park Cemetery next to his beloved wife Ann and her parents, Jack and Catherine. Friends are invited to visit and share memories of Warren with the family on Friday from 4:00 p.m. until 8:00 p.m. at Gardner-Brockman Chapel, 505 Main Street. Memorial contributions may be made in Bud’s memory to First United Methodist Church, Vincennes.