Harriett Pitman Bull (nee Brown), age 96, of Marblehead, passed away June 21, 2019 – on the summer solstice. Born in Jamaica Plain, Massachusetts to Marbleheaders Samuel Horton Brown, Jr. and Marian Martin Brown, she spent the first four years of her life in Annapolis, Maryland where her naval architect father taught ‘steam’ at the United States Naval Academy.
The Browns returned to Marblehead in 1926 and took up residence in the family home near Marblehead harbor. Harriett was the sixth generation to live there.
Harriett was a 1944 graduate of Jackson College at Tufts University where she was a member of the sailing team. After college she worked for State Street Trust in Boston. Harriett married Norris Langdon Bull, Jr. a Navy pilot, in 1945. Their marriage of 68 years began with a blind date arranged by his uncle and aunt. They remained devoted to each other until Norris’ death in 2012. Their life together was blessed with two children, four grandchildren, many beloved friends and neighbors, a succession of cocker spaniels, and two wooden sloops (the ‘Carrie Pitman’ and the ‘Harr’) designed and built by Harriett’s father.
Harriett was a dedicated member of the Marblehead Garden Club, helping to plan, plant and maintain the gardens of the historic Jeremiah Lee Mansion. In 2014 she was given a Special Achievement Award by the Garden Club Federation of Massachusetts for her years of service to her club. Harriett’s own garden was her happy place where she spent most daylight hours each summer, battling the bind weed that threatened to overtake her delicate wildflowers and beautiful perennials. She knew the history of each plant in the garden: where it came from and who had given it to her. She served many years on the boards of the Marblehead Female Humane Society and the Marblehead Visiting Nurse Association. Her interest in history led her, and her husband, to volunteer at the Marblehead Museum and Historical Society. Harriett and Norris traveled to Great Britain several times to research the early Marblehead settlers from Cornwall, as part of the Fowey-Marblehead Association.
The center of Harriett’s life was her family. She was a wonderful wife, mother and grandmother who steered the family ship with a steady hand on the tiller and the ability to calm stormy waters. She will be missed.
She leaves a daughter, Sally Bull Sands and her husband Larry; a son Thomas Langdon Bull and his wife Sara. She was the proud grandmother of Jeffrey Langdon Sands, Hannah Fisher Sands, Alexander Thomas Bull and Lauren Kendall Bull. She also leaves a sister in law, Altabelle Pflomm of Connecticut, Brown and Martin family cousins and many Bull family nieces and nephews.
A celebration of her life will be held at Old North Church (First Church of Christ, UCC) 35 Washington Street, Marblehead on Saturday, July 13th at 2:00 PM. Burial will be private. In lieu of flowers, memorial donations may be made to the Marblehead Garden Club, P.O. Box 129, Marblehead, MA 01945; Marblehead Animal Shelter, 44 Village St., Marblehead, MA 01945 (online donation available); or Care Dimensions of the North Shore, 75 Sylvan St., Suite B102, Danvers, MA 01923 (online donation at caredimensions.org). Arrangements by Eustis and Cornell of Marblehead. Please visit the online guestbook for Harriett at www.eustisandcornellfuneralhome.com
