ORRINGTON – William Clapp Bullock Jr., 86, of Orrington, Maine, passed away on Saturday, Dec. 24, 2022. He was born in Bronxville, N.Y., on June 28, 1936, the only son of the late William Clapp Bullock Sr. and Elizabeth Van Wagnen Bullock. He grew up in Darien, Conn., before moving to Bangor, Maine in 1969. Mr. Bullock was a 1954 graduate of Phillips Academy in Andover, Mass.; received his BA degree in 1958 from Yale University; and also attended New York University Graduate School of Business.

He married Edith Diana Swain (Dede) of Pomfret, Conn., on June 21, 1958 and they remained together for almost 65 years. Together, they chose the Bangor area as their permanent home for more than 53 years.

He began his storied banking career in 1958 with Morgan Guaranty Trust Company where he rose to the position of Vice President and Senior Loan Officer. Bullock left Morgan in 1969 to assume responsibility for the commercial loan department of the Merrill Trust Company in Bangor. He later became president, chief executive officer and chairman of the bank until its merger with Fleet Financial Group, when he became the Chairman of Fleet Bank of Maine. He resigned in 1988, citing philosophical differences with the bank’s out-of-state management. Not ready to retire, Bullock returned to the Maine banking scene in 1992 when he organized a new bank, Merrill Merchants, purchasing seven Fleet banking offices that banking regulators forced them to sell due to their excessive market share in Bangor. Bullock was incredibly proud of this new bank and especially so of the people who aided him in returning local banking decisions to Bangor, and returning the Merrill and Merchants Bank names to prominence. Bullock retired as Chairman of the Board in 2004. Bullock was well recognized in the banking world; In 1986, Bullock was elected to serve a three-year term on the board of the Federal Reserve Bank of Boston. He also served as President of the Maine Bankers Association and on several committees of the American Bankers Association.

An avid fly fisherman under the tutelage of his father, Bullock was captain of the Yale Angling Team. He coveted his experience as a Maine Guide, leading canoeing and fly fishing trips for kids on the Allagash during his high school summers. Bullock traveled throughout the world to fish the waters of the United States, Canada, Europe, New Zealand, Australia and Argentina. Bullock was honored to serve as a director of the Atlantic Salmon Federation and worked tirelessly to conserve this magnificent fish. Bullock treasured his membership in The Anglers Club of New York and was a member and past President of both the Megantic Fish and Game Corporation in Maine and the Gatineau Fish & Game Club in Quebec. One of Bullock’s passions was to return Atlantic salmon to their native Maine rivers through his ongoing support of local conservation and restoration initiatives such as Downeast Salmon Federation.

Active in civic and community affairs throughout the state of Maine, Bullock was a governor appointed trustee of the Maine Maritime Academy and the Maine State Retirement System. He was a board member of Eastern Maine Medical Center. He was a founding director of the Maine Chamber of Commerce and Industry and was appointed to a number of University of Maine special committees including the President’s Advisory Council. Bullock also served as the Chairman of Governor Longley’s Advisory Council on the Indian Land Claims Settlement. Bullock was a generous patron of local organizations including the Curran Homestead and The Orrington Historical Society.

Mr. Bullock spent his summers on his beloved Poplar Island on Lac des Trente et Un Milles in Point Comfort, Quebec and traveled throughout Canada in pursuit of wild trout and salmon.

Mr. Bullock is survived by his loving wife of almost 65 years Dede. He was preceded in death by his sister Cynthia.

His four children and seven grandchildren inherit his many gifts: Wendy Ellen Bullock of Mesa, Ariz., and Columbia Falls, Martha Dexter Bullock of Portland, Maine, Sarah Allen Bullock of Thomaston, Maine, and William C. Bullock III, and his wife Bebe of Arlington, Vt.; grandchildren, Elisabeth Ryan Feeney of Los Angeles, Adelaide Coleman Bullock of Williamsburg/Brooklyn, N.Y., James Chadwick Bullock of Suffield, Conn., William C. Bullock IV of New York City, Charles Sterling Bullock of Waterville Maine, John Cameron Bullock of Lewiston, and Silas Field Bullock of Elon, N.C.

A celebration of life will be held on January 13, at 11 a.m., at the Brookings Smith Chapel located at 133 Center Street in Bangor.

In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions may be made to the Maine Maritime Academy to The Commander William C. Bullock Sr. Scholarship Fund

1 Pleasant St,

Castine, ME 04420.





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