Bernard Dean Bulmer

OAKLAND – Bernard Dean Bulmer passed away on Feb. 15, 2022, at 100 years old, in his home on Messalonskee Lake which he built himself in 1962, with family by his side.

Bern was born in Smithfield, Maine on the Sand Hill Road where the house still stands today. He was the son of Dean and Della (Brooks) Bulmer. He attended Williams High School in Oakland, Maine where Bern was raised. He often told of being picked up by a wagon to go to school each day. Bern graduated High School 1939 and was soon after drafted into the Army. He was stationed at Fort Hood, Texas as a machine gun instructor. Little did Bern know that Texas would change his life forever, when he walked into the Five and Dime store, where he met his Million Dollar Baby, Annie Rose Ratliff or as we all knew her as “Peck.”

Bern was a man of many hats. After being discharge from the Army he learned the craft of a watch maker. While working at this job he traded a $15.00 dollar watch for a 15-acre parcel of land in Smithfield. A few years later, the Maine woods began calling his name, so he went on to become cruiser to run lines and scale wood for Diamond Match Company out of Oakland. Later years, when his daughter Virginia, was born he decided that he wanted to be closer to home. He then became an auto body/mechanic for Pullen Ford in Oakland. That is where he bought right off the car carrier, a 1965 Ford Mustang Convertible and a 1969 Ford Ranger that are still in the family in their original state to this day. In 1979, Bern heard of a night watchman/ boiler operator position for Cascade Woolen Mill where he worked until retirement at the age of 75.

In 1961, with great pride, Bern joined the Masons Messalonskee Lodge #113. As well as the Masons, Bern had many other interests. He spent many hours with his family, hunting and exploring the state brook fishing. One of Bern’s proudest accomplishments was this past fall when he shot a 170 lb. 6-point buck, making him Maine’s oldest person to harvest a deer in state.

Bernard was predeceased by his parents; his wife, Annie; his brothers, Donald, and Wallace; and his granddaughter, Lorna Labbe Brackett.

He is survived by his sister, Marion Bulmer; his daughter, Virginia Labbe and son-in-law, Mike; his grandchildren, Rick Labbe and his wife, Nancy, Dana Labbe and his wife, Barbara; his great grandchildren, Tyler Brackett, Maureen Mosher, Ciera Lambert, and Jenna Murray; his five great, great grandchildren; and several nieces and nephews. He is also survived by his brother-in- law, Richard and his wife, Callie Ratliff, where Bern spent many evenings in his later years eating supper and sharing stories of his life.

A March Celebration of Life at Wheeler Funeral Home in Oakland will be announced at a later date.

The family would like to send a special thanks to Beacon Hospice for the wonderful care they provided in his final days.

Arrangements are in the care of Wheeler Funeral Home, 26 Church St., Oakland, where condolences may be shared with the family on the obituary page of the website at http://www.familyfirstfuneralhomes.com.



Bernard Dean Bulmer