Elizabeth Mary (Betsy/Lizzie) McCormick, 60, died July 7, 2023, at her home, surrounded by her husband and children, following complications related to ALS, or Lou Gehrig's disease. She was a brilliant lawyer and academic, a passionate advocate for the rights of the underrepresented and underserved, and a pioneer in immigration justice work. She touched and changed so many lives-as a loving wife, loyal friend, devoted sister, and a trusted colleague, teacher and advocate. But no one mattered to Betsy more than her children-she was happiest in their presence.
Betsy is survived by her husband, Stephen Bulmer, and her three children, Maya Lindsay (22), a rising senior at Mills College at Northeastern University, Cormac Graeme (20), a rising sophomore at the University of Tulsa, and Lachlan James (17), a rising senior at Booker T. Washington High School in Tulsa.
She is also survived by her mother, Barbara McCormick, siblings Pat, Teri (Hinton), Kitty (Baca), Kevin, Mary (Storch), Peggy (Newsom) and Ann (Saybolt), in-laws Margaret (Stephen's mother), Kevin, Gregory, Wayne, Craig, Suzie (Behsman), Wally, and a gaggle of nieces and nephews on both sides.
Betsy loved to run, and enjoyed many outdoor activities with her family, including gardening, hiking and bike riding. She was an avid traveler (27 countries at last count) and held both American and Irish passports.
She and her children participated in many social justice campaigns and protest marches for the rights of women, immigrants and all humans. She worked in support of oppressed groups of all kinds. Her support of democratic ideals around the globe was her hallmark.
Betsy was born in Wiesbaden, Germany on May 29,1963, to Barbara (nee Kirkpatrick) and William (Bill) McCormick. The seventh of eight children in an Air Force family, she lived in Germany, Alabama, Texas, and New Jersey before graduating from Cinnaminson (NJ) High School in 1981. She earned a B.A. at Fordham University in 1985, followed by a Master of Arts (French Language and Literature) from NYU in 1988, and finally her J.D. from Georgetown University Law Center in 1994.
Upon graduation from law school, she took a job with the Philadelphia (PA) Public Defender's office, followed by a stint as the Assistant Attorney General of the Federated States of Micronesia, where she met her husband, Steve. In 2000, they moved to Hartford (CT) where she became a Clinical Fellow at the University of Connecticut School of Law until 2004. She then spent a year lecturing at Cornell Law School in
Utica, NY.
In 2005, Betsy accepted a position as an Associate Professor of Law at the University of Tulsa College of Law. She came to Tulsa to start an immigration clinic, the Immigrant Rights Project (IRP). In 2006, Betsy started what turned out to be the second incubator program in the country, the Tulsa Immigrant Resource Network (TIRN), to work in conjunction with the Immigrant Rights Project. Her vision lives on to this day, as TIRN celebrates its 15th year.
Betsy was also a scholar and a tenured professor at the University of Tulsa College of Law. She served as the first Associate Dean of Experiential Learning here until 2019. Her scholarship was brilliant yet practical, and her commitment to the University of Tulsa College of Law was extraordinary. Betsy served as Interim Dean in the Fall of 2021 and served for several semesters as the Associate Dean of Academic Affairs. She retired in May of this year.
In lieu of flowers, those inclined to do so can donate to a fund established to support her family and/or a fund established in Betsy's name to support the cost of immigration advocacy in Tulsa.
A memorial service will be held later this summer.