Robert Massey Bullock Jr.

Colonel Robert Massey Bullock, USAF (RET) passed away peacefully into Jesus’ arms and with family members on August 31, 2026, in Dallas, Texas He was 96. Affectionally known as “Bob”, “Beuhl”, “Bull”, “Beauregard”, “the Colonel” and “Guv’nor”, Bullock was a man of eternal optimism, kindness and friendliness to all, with the ability to command a room, a conversation or a crowd — when something needed to be done or a problem needed solving. He lived by the motto given him by his early Air Force Squadron Commander: “Never worry about something you can’t doing anything about!”

Bob was born in Richmond, Virginia on February 8,1930 to his parents, the late Robert Massey Bullock Sr. and Lucy Davis Bullock. At John Marshall High School in Richmond, he served as a company commander in Aviation Cadets. After graduation from John Marshall, Bob earned a Bachelor of Business Administration from Marshall University in Huntington, West Virginia. His college life was interrupted by the Korean War. He joined the United States Air Force and opted for pilot training.

He entered training in Hondo, Texas and upon getting his “wings” was assigned to fly B-26’s in Korea. Bob flew dangerous nighttime combat missions for the last year of the war. After he returned from the war, he married his sweetheart Betty Diehl Bullock of Huntington W.Va. They enjoyed 55 years of a very happy, supportive and fulfilling marriage.

Bob’s first assignment after his marriage to Betty was to the Strategic Air Command, 7th Bomb Wing, 9th Bomb Squadron at Carswell AFB in Fort Worth Texas and flew first B-36s and progressed to B-52s. His crew was the first integrated crew in the Strategic Air Command as well as the top-rated crew earning numerous awards and early promotions. He flew airborne alert missions during his 10 critical years at Carswell, most importantly during the Cuban Missile Crisis when the world held its breath. All Colonel Bullock would ever say about the Crisis is that the United States was within a hair’s breadth of a nuclear war.

During his time in Fort Worth, Bob earned an MBA from Texas Christian University (Betty attending classes while Bob was on airborne alert). As only Bob could, in the last semester of his MBA, he convinced the Chancellor at TCU to hold classes in the airborne alert shack on base. In 1959, Betty and Bob welcomed their son, Bruce.

Bob’s career after Carswell, included an unaccompanied assignment in Vietnam 1966-1967, as well as accompanied assignments which included Illinois, Virginia, England, Germany and finally Washington D.C. where Bruce entered the 9th and last of his schools. During this time, Bob became a senior command pilot across a variety of aircraft. Even as Bob’s career blossomed, he, Betty and Bruce visited frequently with his sister Jackie Elliott, her husband Jerry Elliott, their sons Bob and Tim and her granddaughter Rachel of Charleston West Virginia.

In 1977, Bob was offered a position with Texas Utilities (now Vistra and Oncor) to become legislative liaison for TXU in Washington, DC. After 10 years, he retired a second time, played golf, built a home and enjoyed Hot Springs Village for a couple of years before they missed Texas. Bob and Betty than became Pioneers of the new Highland Springs Active Senior Living which opened in the fall of 2006. They enjoyed the nearby company of their son Bruce, daughter in-law Elaine and granddaughters Katie and Audrey.

Betty died unexpectedly in 2009 – less than 3 years after they moved in. As Betty had predicted, Bob remarried. He met Sue deCordova at a “Boxing Day” party of a mutual friend. Her first question to him was “Are you THE Bob Bullock?” He said, “No, but I have a lot of war stories I could tell you”. They were married in January of 2012 and both said that they were so grateful for their “Moment of Forever” (KT Oslin). Bob loved being “Pap Pap” a second time around with Sue’s granddaughters, Claire, Annabelle and Emma.

During his time, Bob made numerous lifetime loyal friends including Walt Evans of Fort Worth Texas, Colonel Joe Syslo (USAF-RET) of Virginia, Lt Colonel Joe Fidler (USAF-RET) of Clarksburg W Va, and Lt Colonel Jim Hancock (USAF-RET) to name a few. Bob also had a number of furry friends as he was somewhat of a pet-whisperer starting with his irish setter Roxy when he was growing up. The love of animals continued after the family became the home of a very crafty beagle, Samantha, while Bruce was growing up. In those days, quarantine regulations prevented military members from bringing pets along during overseas assignments. After four years in Europe, Samantha recognized Bob immediately on the return showering him with affection. In his later years, he genuinely adored Sue’s family cat “Big Boy” who was a constant companion.

For those that knew “the Colonel”, he provided a lifetime of enjoyable, humorous and sometimes mischievous stories. A few examples of his stories included averting the crossing the eyes requirement to qualify as a pilot, and his drill instructor in basic training providing him an apartment above the barracks because he knew close order-drills and could drill the cadets while the drill instructor enjoyed time away with his girlfriend. His stories about the fog of war in Vietnam were fascinating. In storytelling, he was one of the very best and those stories live on in the many friends and acquaintances he made during his lifetime.

Memorial Service is Thursday, September 10, 2026, 2:00pm

Sparkman/Hillcrest Funeral Home

7405 W. Northwest Highway

Dallas, Texas 75225

Inurnment will occur at a later date in Arlington National Cemetery.