John Hulka Obituary

John P. Hulka John P. Hulka, 66, died on Thursday, October 28, 2010, in Phoenix, AZ. He was born December 2, 1943, in New York, NY, to the late John P. Hulka, Sr., and Mary (DaSilva) Hulka. His military career began with service in the Honor Guard at Arlington National Cemetery and included two tours of duty in Vietnam as a U.S. Army Airborne Infantry Officer with frontline combat units. Among his military honors are the Purple Heart, two Bronze Stars, and two Silver Stars. After graduating from UNC-Chapel Hill and leaving the Army with the rank of Captain, he spent more than 30 years in the finance industry in San Francisco, New York, and Sydney, Australia, reaching senior management positions at Morgan Stanley and Merrill Lynch. His survivors include his wife of 40 years, Judith Hulka, and his son, Evan Hulka, of San Francisco; his brother, Charles Hulka, of Phoenix; his sister, Kathryn Hulka, of Cave Creek, Arizona; and six nieces and nephews in Arizona and Pennsylvania. Messinger Pinnacle Peak Mortuary, 8555 E. Pinnacle Peak Road, Scottsdale, AZ, 85255, will host a viewing from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. on November 5, 2010, and a memorial service to celebrate John's life, beginning at 11 a.m. on November 6, 2010. Interment with full military honors will take place on a future date at Arlington National Cemetery. Memorial donations may be sent to the Hydrocephalus Association, 870 Market St., Suite 705, San Francisco, CA, 94102, or the Hospice of the Valley, 1510 E. Flower St., Phoenix, AZ, 85014.

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Published by San Francisco Chronicle from Nov. 4 to Nov. 5, 2010.

Memories and Condolences
for John Hulka

5 Entries

Richard Alligood

October 29, 2023

Happy memories and times with John, his brother and sister. We lived only a few houses apart and John was two yrs. older than me. When he was a senior and I a sophomore, I would ride to school with him or we both with Buzz Lloyd. Charlie and Cathy, Paul and I attended John's service at Arlington which was very impressive. My best to you all and know you are not forgotten.

Gill Ruderman

October 27, 2021

The most special of friends since high school. The memories never fade away-like the apartment fire we survived while roommates at Ft Bragg in 1969, and our trip to Vietnam, not government sponsored, in 1998.
Rest in peace John.

November 7, 2010

Charles, Kathryn, Evan, other members of John's family and his many friends:

I've had the honor of calling John Hulka a close friend since 1960.

Through high school, college, the Army, being roommates at Ft Bragg, NC when our apartment was on fire, a trip back to Viet Nam in 1998, and other experiences, there were very few people I've known longer and been more proud to call a friend.

John knew what was important in life and knew how to value those things with class, dignity, and the right degree of an irrelavent outlook.

Having him in your corner was an honor. Having him as a friend was a tremendous privilege.

Our thoughts and prayers are with you. I look forward to the honor of helping you lay him to rest at Arlington.

Gill (and Florence) Ruderman

Randy Huffman

November 4, 2010

I was filled with grief to hear of John's passing. John gave me my start in the Investment Banking business, as a young Associate at Morgan Stanley in 1987. I spent almost 25years at the firm, but no time was better than my first 4 years under John's direction! We shared "common ground" both growing up in NC and our LOVE of the North Carolina Tar Heels ! John enjoyed his years at Carolina and always relayed his tales of how a very young Dean Smith lead them to national prominence! He never missed an opportunity to chide the dukies and was emphatic of how and why the heels should run each play down the court. Along with a fresh recruit, right out of Duke's MBA program, John gave us our first, major assignment - "Come back to me by 3PM on all you know regarding Vic Bubas", John bellowed at 7AM on a Friday morning ! We looked at each other and shrugged , "who the heck is this Bubas guy - Must be a major player in the financial services industry we guessed. Those were the days before the internet answered all your questions, so off we went to the Morgan Stanley Library in search of this financial kingpin, Mr Bubas !! Needless to say, there was zero information in any of the industry publications regarding Bubas. Its 1PM and we're running out of time when our pager (years before cell phones) started blinking with an urgent message- Call this number and ask for Bubas it read. We called and instantly were connected to Mr. John Mack who at the time run the entire Fixed Income Division. He inquired on how our assignment from Hulka was going - What info do you have for our 3PM deadline? The MBS grad spoke first, "Regrettably, Mr Mack, we've had somewhat of a setback on John's assignment, sir. Long Pause from the other end of the phone- The kind you dont want to hear as a "lowly Associate" from Mr Mack - "boys, you're looking in the WRONG books - try Sports Illustrated or an ACC program - Looks like Hulka wins again!! He told me you two "freshmen" were racking your brains in all the wrong places-Bubas-Bubas is the first BIG name coach at DUKE !! Hulka said even guys that went to Duke dont have a clue on the history of Duke Basketball ! You guys should get back to your desks and hopefully you're better at bond analysis than sports"....... We'd been "duped" by the best of em - John Hulka!! Just one of the MANY fond tales of life with John at Morgan Stanley !! Over the years, even after John left the firm, we remained good pals and I visited with him on my trips to SanFrancisco. He never failed to ask about my mother and father and how I was "holding up without him" at Morgan. He was a stature of a man with underlying principals that I try and live by each day. As another colleague said to me yesterday- "if you were in John's camp, you could count on support to John's last breath" !! If there was a whopping to give out to one of John's staff, it was going to come from John - not someone who might not have their "facts" just right. I am proud to have been one of John's friends - I will miss our chats on Carolina basketball, the finance business, and his many inquiries on BBQ ! - But most of all, I will miss our friendship - He was "one fine Tar Heel" in my eyes !!! I'm positive the Bell Tower will be ringing for John's arrival........ May he rest in Peace ! ...........Randy

Paul Alligood

November 2, 2010

This posting is for Charles and Kathryn. This is Paul Alligood who grew up with all of you on Vista Dr. in Fayetteville. My condolences to you and to John's wife and son. I reside in the Washington, D. C. area and would like to attend the service for John if someone can let me know when it will be held. My thoughts and prayers are with you.

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