April 06, 1935 - January 18, 2022
Grace Snustad Bull passed away peacefully on January 18, 2022, with her family by her side. Grace was born on April 6, 1935, on the family farm in Hendrum, Minnesota to Carl and Gilma Snustad. Grace graduated from Hendrum High School, attended Concordia College and graduated from North Dakota State University, majoring in biology with a minor in English. Always looking for the next adventure, she headed west and started teaching high school English in Buckly, Washington. After two years, she was hired as an English teacher at Lodi High School. She married fellow teacher Kenneth Bull and they had two daughters: Jennifer Catherine in 1963 and Marsha Lee in 1965. Grace left teaching in 1963.
Always trying to help others, Grace was a member of the Migrant Ministry and helped organize and run a daycare for migrant workers in a warehouse near Woodbridge, CA in the late 1960s and early 70s. Also in the early 70s, she was a charter member of Lodi Ecology Action and helped start Lodi’s first recycling center.
Grace went back to teaching in 1971 at Bidwell School. In 1973, she decided to attend Joaquin Delta College to pursue her nursing degree as an RN. She worked as a surgical nurse at Lodi Memorial Hospital from 1975 until retirement in 2000. During this time, she was an active member of the local chapter of the Association of Operating Room Nurses.
Grace was always on the move and lived life to the fullest! Her passion was skiing, but she loved tennis, golfing, bicycling, backpacking, hiking, birding and traveling the world. She enjoyed camping and traveling with her partner of 40 years, Jim Gomer. She especially loved to spend time with her granddaughters, Abigail and Carly!
Grace was a generous person, volunteering her time and donating to her favorite charities. She was a two time breast cancer survivor and she volunteered for over 15 years with the American Cancer Society counseling cancer patients (Reach to Recovery) and driving patients to medical appointments (Drive to Recovery). Grace also volunteered tutoring students learning English as a second language. During theholiday season, she rang the bell for the Salvation Army. Grace also supported Doctors without orders,
Lodi Community Concerts, the Stockton symphony, The Nature Conservancy, Sierra Club and many other charities.
Grace is survived by her daughter Jennifer Bull and husband Joe Croteau, daughter Marsha Bull-Windham, granddaughters Abigail Bull-Windham and Carly Windham, and many loved nieces and nephews and their children. She was preceded in death by Jim Gomer, her parents, her sisters Inez and Mildred, her brothers Nels, Carroll, George and Willard, and their beloved spouses.
The family wishes to thank Brookdale in Lodi for the exceptional care provided to Grace during her final months.
There are no services planned at this time, but a celebration of life may be scheduled in the future. In lieu of flowers, donations can be made in Grace’s memory to the American Cancer Society, Salvation Army, Doctors without Borders, or charity of your choice.
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Cherokee Memorial is honored to serve the Bull family.
