October 1916
(Next post on Monday: Industrial-Arts Magazine, 1922)
LETTERING • LOGOS • LETTERFORMS • ALPHABETS • TYPOGRAPHY • CALLIGRAPHY • ETC
John Carl Bulthuis, artist, storyteller, and beloved husband, father, grandfather, and great grandfather, passed away peacefully and surrounded by his family on the evening of February 14, 2019. Born January 8, 1919 in the Bronx, John lived to be 100 years old, because, as he said, “I think that it would please me.”Bulthuis’ wife, Dorothy passed away on January 20, 2021. An obituary was posted at Tribute Archive.
John looked at the world through the eyes of an artist, seeing beauty in rundown buildings, sunsets, and the ordinary people he’d sketch at the grocery store. His legacy lies, at least in part, in the drawings that fill his countless sketchbooks. He studied at The Art Students League of New York. His career as an illustrator began at McGraw Hill Publishing Company. He next drew for the Journal of Medical Economics and later for West Essex Graphics.
One of the great honors of John’s life was serving in the United States Navy as a third class radioman during World War II. John was on duty to receive the wire informing his ship’s captain that the United States had entered the war, and he witnessed the ship’s captain informing his men, “Gentlemen, we are at war.” His beloved ship, the USS Meredith, participated in the Doolittle Raid; John recalled participating in D-Day, gifting his harmonica to a soldier as he disembarked the ship to attack on the beaches of Normandy. Before the Meredith’s final mission, John was ordered off the ship with a case of pneumonia. While he was recuperating on shore, the Meredith was attacked and sunk in ten minutes. John mourned the loss of his shipmates — many of whom are immortalized in the pages of the sketchbooks he kept during the war — for the rest of his life.
His military service was inspired by a deep love for his country which never left him. John always believed in the goodness of Americans: “Americans are kind and good people. We treated our enemies extremely well. If they were wounded, we dressed their wounds. If they were hungry, we fed them. If they were in danger, we saved them...That’s the kind of people we are.”
Eclipsing even his passion for his art and his love of country was his endless devotion to his beloved Dorothy. Married for 72 years, John and Dorothy’s story began at a USO dance in 1943 where John caught sight of a beautiful girl in a red dress, and he was “no longer weary.” Their enduring love represents the best of what marriage can be. For John and his Dorothy, there could never be enough time.
It is difficult to put into words the gift that John was to those who knew him. He was a masterful storyteller, a true gentleman, and as charismatic as they come. He will be dearly missed.
John is preceded in death by his sister, Marie Dallas. He is survived by his wife, Dorothy Bulthuis of Edison, and his two daughters, Deborah Przybylowski-Raggi and her husband, John, of Green Brook, and Janette Ingraham of Lisle, NY.
He is also survived by his grandchildren, Samuel Battles; Abigail Glezen and her husband, Randy; Laura Jones and her husband, Eric; Mark Przybylowski and his wife, Kaya; Kristin Carlson and her husband, Evan; and Veronica Raggi. He is also survived by his great-grandchildren, Cayden, Noah, Juliet, Ada, Siena, Cole, and Avery.
Viewing will take place at 9:00 am on Saturday, February 23 with funeral services beginning at 10:00 am at the Church of the Holy Cross in North Plainfield. Burial will follow at Hillside Cemetery in Plainfield. In lieu of flowers, donations can be made in John’s name to his home church, St. Clement’s Episcopal Church in Hawthorne, NJ.
Dorothy Mabel Bulthuis, lovingly known as Dottie, died at the New Jersey Veterans Memorial Home in Edison, New Jersey at the age of 96. She was surrounded by the love of her family, and the Veterans Home staff.
Dorothy was born on July 23, 1924 in Lynbrook, New York. She lived in a home constructed by her father, William Blum, for his family-wife, Mabel, two sons, William and Harold and his darling daughter, Dottie.
Dorothy married the love of her life, John Carl Bulthuis, on April 7, 1946 after meeting at a USO dance where Dorothy sang during World War II. The letters they exchanged during the war shine with their devotion to each other. That love continued for 73 years and was evident to all who knew them.
After the war, the couple continued to live with Dorothy’s parents in Lynbrook so that John could continue his education. They eventually moved to Paterson, NJ with their two daughters, Deborah and Janette. They lived in their home until 2017 when health issues demanded care at the Veteran’s Home.
Dorothy possessed a keen mind, common sense, wisdom and strong organizational skills, which her family admired and appreciated. She was stronger than she knew and was the center of her family. Everyone thrived because of her belief that “one loved with an open hand.”
She loved sewing clothes for her children, creating cross stitch crewels and solving crossword puzzles, the harder the better. She played both the piano and organ and had a beautiful singing voice. She was a wonderful cook and gracious hostess. All were welcome at her table.
Helpful neighbors were rewarded with her delicious cranberry nut bread. Ever mindful of her family, she worked part time at a local business in order to be near her children.
Dorothy lived her 96 years as a loving soul, oftentimes putting the needs of others before her own. Her loving and supportive nature will be missed by all who knew and loved her.
Dorothy’s beloved John passed away in February 2019.
She is survived by her two daughters, Deborah Przybylowski-Raggi and her husband John of Green Brook and Janette Ingraham of Lisle, NY. She adored her six grandchildren: Samuel Battles; Abigail Glezen and her husband, Randy; Laura Jones and her husband, Eric; Mark Przybylowski and his wife, Kaya; Kristin Carlson and her husband, Evan and Veronica Raggi. Dorothy was blessed with eight great-grandchildren: Cayden, Hadley, Noah, Juliet, Ada, Siena, Cole and Avery.
Burial will be at Hillside Cemetery in Scotch Plains on Saturday, January 23rd at 11:00 in the morning. A celebration of Dorothy’s life will be held at a later date at The Church of the Holy Cross in North Plainfield.
In lieu of flowers, donations can be made in Dorothy’s name to her home church, St. Clement’s Episcopal Church, 271 Lafayette Avenue, Hawthorne, NJ, 07506.
The 1925 New York state census counted the “Palatsky” family (lines 44 to 49) at 441 East 81st Street in Manhattan.
A pitcher who has heaved against the Brooklyn Robins in practice sessions would like to connect with a strong club. Write Rudolph Palais, 53 Stanwix street, Brooklyn.Seven months after the census enumeration, Palais’ father passed away on November 10, 1930.
... He started his career as a letterer at the Iger shop and was soon drawing features. Walter was the one who got me into comics. He was studying for the priesthood in Princeton, New Jersey, and used to visit me at Columbia Pictures where I was doing movie posters. He told me he wanted something to do for the summertime. I told him to take his artwork and show it around.A week later, he came back to me and said he couldn’t find a job. I thought about it for a minute and asked, “In your rounds, were there some people who showed more interest in your work than others?” He said there were and I said, “Go back to those people and see what takes place.” The next day, he got a job at Iger’s.Walter told them about me, and they asked him to tell me to drop in sometime. Which I did. I became so interested in the work these young men were doing that I decided to jump into the comics game. ...
Hold Waitress on Tipsy Driving, Hit-RunSouth Huntington—A 46-year-old waitress was arrested here early yesterday for drunken driving and leaving the scene of an accident after her car was in collision with a taxi on Jericho Turnpike at West Hills Road. Agnes M. Jones, of 66 Jackson Huntington, who said she is employed by a Cold Spring Harbor restaurant, appeared in court yesterday morning after spending several hours in jail and was released in the custody of her attorney for three weeks pending trial.She was arrested by Ptl. Voyle Anderson and John Coppins after they were called to the scene of the accident about 1:30 AM. They found Mrs. Jones car on New York Ave. and took her to the offices of a doctor who pronounced her intoxicated, they said. The driver of the taxi, Walter Palais of Hillwood Drive, Huntington Station, pressed the complaint of leaving the scene of the accident.He said he was turning into Jericho Turnpike at West Hills Road when he saw Miss Jones car bearing down on him and swung to the right. He was hit anyway, Palais said, and the other car kept on going. But he got its description. The woman told the court she was on her way to report the crash at headquarters when the radio car stopped her.