Frances P. Bultman

Mrs. Bultman of Charlotte and Lake Norman died Sunday, March 11th, 2012. The daughter of John Wesley and Estelle Lewis Poland, she was the granddaughter of John Austin and Polly Williams Lewis and Davis Anderson and Rhoda Batchelor Poland; and grand-niece of Stephen Wells, Knights Templar, of Nash Wilson Counties.

She was educated in the Nash County public schools. When the United States entered World War II, she heeded her country’s call for secretaries, and with a childhood friend went to Washington, DC where she worked in the War Department. After the War she returned to NC, married J. Norwood Smith in 1950, and worked for the NC Department of Highways. In 1962, she married Frank H. Bultman. They lived in Raleigh and Jackson, Mississippi before settling in Charlotte. They maintained homes in Charlotte and Lake Norman for many years before his death.

In addition to devoting her life to the raising and care of her family, Mrs. Bultman was very active in Charity League, and served a term as President of the Charlotte Women’s Club. She was involved in World Vision, sponsoring a little girl in Bangladesh beginning in 1997 and continuing through her adolescence. She also served as an Elder in the Presbyterian Church and member of the PEO Chapter C here in Charlotte for many years. She gave many hours of volunteer time to various civic and charitable organizations. She was an officer for the family business enterprises which at one time included service stations, a travel agency, a real estate company and an oil distributorship. She was a member of Carmel Presbyterian Church. She was a gourmet cook and a gracious hostess often entertaining friends and business associates in her elegant home. In her youth, she enjoyed tennis, golf, and horseback riding. She enjoyed the opera, playing bridge, and she was an avid reader. Mrs. Bultman traveled the world and had visited Europe and the Far East many times, particularly Bangladesh where daughter, Sharlene and her husband, Dr. Craig Meisner, were missionaries.

Mrs. Bultman is survived by her daughters, Sharlene Meisner (Craig) and Constance Stanifer; grandsons, Luke (Toolsi), Nathan and Jason Meisner; granddaughter, Christina Stanifer; great-grandson, Kavi Meisner; her sister, Sylvia Turner of Fort Washington, MD; and her brother, Preble Poland of Renton, WA; and many nieces and nephews. She was preceded in death by her only son, Eric Lockwood Smith Bultman.

Visitation will be on Wednesday evening, March 14, 2012 from 6 until 8 p.m. at Harry & Bryant Company. The funeral will be held at 2 p.m. on Thursday, March 15th at Carmel Presbyterian Church. Immediately following the service, Mrs. Bultman will be entombed next to her son at Sunset Memory Gardens Mausoleum. .

Contributions may be made in her memory to Carmel Presbyterian Church or to World Missions.