Dr. Thomas Michael Bulle

Thomas M. Bulle, MD-beloved husband, father, grandfather, brother, physician, friend, and servant of Christ-entered his heavenly home on February 17, 2026. While his family grieves deeply, they rejoice in the assurance that he has heard the words, "Well done, good and faithful servant."

Born in Ambur, India, to a medical-missionary father and a German-artist mother, Tom's life was shaped early by service, compassion, and creativity. His lifelong devotion to medicine, faith, and family reflected those roots. He combined clinical excellence with thoughtful leadership, maintaining an unwavering commitment to his patients and community. Outside of medicine, he cherished time on the water and relaxed gatherings with family and friends.

Tom graduated cum laude from Duke University before earning his Doctor of Medicine from Albany Medical College. He completed his residency at NC Memorial Hospital, where he served as Chief Medical Resident.

He then completed fellowships in Cardiovascular Disease and Interventional Cardiology at the University of Alabama at Birmingham, where he joined the faculty as Assistant Professor of Medicine and Cardiology and served as Director of the Interventional Cardiology Training Program until 1989. A true pioneer, he performed the region's first aortic and mitral valve balloon valvuloplasty in 1987.

Tom later brought his expertise to Kingsport, Tennessee, where he built a distinguished reputation at Holston Valley Medical Center and the Wellmont CVA Heart Institute. Continuing his legacy of innovation in the Appalachian region, he became the first in the state and region to perform coronary artery stenting and drug-eluting coronary stenting. Deeply committed to long-term patient outcomes, he also established the region's first dedicated ambulatory heart failure management program, known as Heart Success.

Yet if you asked Tom, his greatest achievements were not clinical milestones. His favorite part of medicine was pulling up a chair, listening carefully, and truly knowing his patients. He brought warmth to hospital corridors-often in his signature scrubs-with a steady presence and unmistakable kindness.

A man of deep Christian faith, Tom served faithfully at his church, leading Bible studies and participating in medical mission trips from Honduras to Estonia.

Tom found joy and renewal on the water. He loved boating and sailing and was known as the steady captain who could "bring a big boat into a narrow slip in a crosswind." He also had a profound love for training hunting retrievers. His family finds comfort imagining his reunion at heaven's gates with an enthusiastic pack of beloved dogs: Newton, Chelsea, Zach, Chip, Gabe, Abby, Heidi, Buck, and Brutus.

Above every professional accomplishment, his most treasured roles were husband, father, and grandfather. Tom's memory lives on in his wife, Mary Lynn Bulle; his daughter, Stephanie King (David), and their children Nolen, Hudson, and Addison; and his son, Christopher Bulle. He is also lovingly remembered by his brother, Ralph, and his sister-in-law, Laura; his nieces, Emily, Meridel, and Hannah; and countless colleagues, friends, and grateful patients. He was preceded in death by his parents, Wolfgang and Gisela Bulle.

A celebration of Tom's remarkable life will be held at Holy Trinity Lutheran Church in Kingsport at 2:00 PM on Saturday, February 28. In lieu of flowers, the family requests donations to the Bulle Youth Endowment at Holy Trinity Lutheran Church, The Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson's Research, or Petworks Animal Services in Kingsport."

And I will wipe away every tear from their eyes; and there will be no more death; there will be no more mourning, nor crying, nor pain."