Geraldine Bullock

OBITUARY
Geraldine (née Vergara) Bullock, known as Geri, was born in Bronx, N.Y., on June 5, 1949, to Wanda D. Lacy, née Eleazer. She was raised on Shinnecock Territory by her grandmother Venus Eleazer until age 12 when she went to live with her mother and stepfather Gilmore N. Lacy on Beck Street in the Bronx.
The oldest of four, Geri helped raise her siblings Sandra E. Lacy, Sharon P. Lacy-Sylvester, and Michael N. Lacy, all of Shinnecock. Upon her mother's death in 1985 Geri, only 36, inherited the mantle of family matriarch.
By age 21 Geri married her first husband, Gary R. Wade Sr. and moved to Throggs Neck where they raised three children of their own, Denise L. Wade, of Newburgh, N.Y., Doreen C. Wade, and Damon R. Wade, both of Shinnecock. The couple divorced in the early 2000s.
Whatever Geri set out to do, she approached with pride and intention. She was extremely organized and meticulous. Everything had to be "Geri's way;" if not, she would not let up until it was so. Geri's siblings, all hard workers, say that Geri's relentless and headstrong determination is the foundation for their own work ethic.
Geri had a smile that could light up a room and a feistiness that would let you know she meant business. Her tough love attitude was not reserved solely for family and friends; she further extended her endearing demeanor to countless patients throughout her 42-years as a nurse's aide.
For sixteen years Geri worked at Prospect Hospital, a private facility located less than a block from the family's Beck Street brownstone. When Prospect closed in 1985, her career relocated to Jacobi Hospital in Morris Park, Bronx. There she met the love of her life, John Bullock, a Hospital Police. Geri worked for 26 years at Jacobi Hospital, alongside her cousin Lynda Hunter.
According to Lynda, Geri "Loved, Loved, LOVED her work." She was the kind of nurse who put her whole heart into the job. Secretly referred to by her patients as "drill sergeant," Geri was notoriously known by her coworkers to show up early and pilfer the charts in order to get a jump start on her own shift. Nonetheless, Geri was respected and adored equally by both her patients and coworkers for her rigid, though loving bedside manner. With Geri in charge, everyone could trust they were in good care.
Geri and John married in 2002 and lived in Co-op City, Bronx until Geri retired in 2011. They then relocated to her childhood home on Shinnecock Territory and in 2012, they restored and renovated the old family homestead into a home of their own.
Geri's retirement on Shinnecock allowed her to rekindle her time with first cousins Donna M. Eleazer and Lynda Hunter. The three were inseparable in their teenage years, having grown up only blocks away from one another in the Bronx. In their older years, they coined themselves the Golden Girls: Donna was Dorothy, Lynda was Blanche and Geri, of course, was Rose.
When Geri wasn't happily engaged in her favorite personal pastime--cleaning and organizing--she liked to shop, travel with her husband, and collect photos. Geri loved her family profusely. She cataloged numerous photo albums of family trips to the Bahamas, the Caribbean, Vegas, and Florida, to name a few places; as well as documented family events such as weddings, baby showers and other special moments.
In addition to her husband of 19 years; two sisters, two sister-cousins, a brother, and a sister-in-law, all of Shinnecock; Geri is survived by an uncle, John "Running Deer" Eleazer of New Jersey and two brother-in-laws, Robert Sylvester and William Bess Jr., of Shinnecock.
By way of two daughters and a son, Geri is survived by four granddaughters, Dayana S. Terry, Shatahni L. Eleazer, Destiny Wade, and Lanaiya A. Gumbs; four grandsons, Justin J. Eleazer, Zani C. Lee, Damon R. Wade Jr., and Destin L. Faison; and five great-grandsons, Zamarion K. Terry, Zyaire C. Terry, Nausell A. McCoy, Noah S. McCoy and Jiovanni S. Wade. She is also survived by a step-daughter, Tanya Bullock; a step-son Darryn Bullock; five step-grandchildren; 12 step-great-grandchildren; as well as a host of nieces, nephews, great-nieces, great-nephews, and cousins.
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