Galen William Bull

June 17, 1922 – October 6, 2009
Galen William Bull, 87, of Granite Bay, California, died October 6, 2009, in Granite Bay. Memorial services will be held Sunday, November 15, at 2 p.m. in Willow Glen United Methodist Church, 1420 Newport Ave., San Jose, CA with a reception to follow. Memorials may be sent to the Bull Family Endowment, supporting students in science education, at The Tower Foundation of SJSU, One Washington Square, Clark Hall 3rd Floor, San Jose, CA 95192-1083, Attn: The Bull Family Endowment Fund.
Galen W. Bull was born in Wellman, Iowa, June 17, 1922, the son of Ralph and Ruth Bull. After bootlegging rum to local college students, Mr. Bull earned money to attend junior college, later entering the Navy as an officer holding the rank of Lieutenant Commander as a Naval Aviator during WWII. He flew range patrol bomber sea planes in the Pacific. He also flew transport aircraft R4D and R5D. He was united in marriage January 1, 1946, to Ivalee Kiemel in Sylvia, Kansas. He earned his BA in Education at Kansas State Teachers College in Emporia, and his Master’s and Doctorate in Education at the University of Missouri in Columbia, Missouri. In 1959, he took a professorship at San Jose State University in California teaching in the natural and physical science departments. From 1966-68, he traveled to Ibadan, Nigeria in West Africa where he helped establish a teacher’s college. He retired from teaching in 1989. He was active in the Boy Scouts of Santa Clara County, serving on several merit badge committees. In 2006 he moved to Sacramento County to be close to his family. Mr. Bull was an avid golfer, active in SIRS for 20 years following retirement. He enjoyed his weekly visits to his friends at Thunder Valley Casino in Lincoln, California.
He will be missed by his son, Eric and his wife Michelle Bull of Penryn, California; and his three grandchildren, Shellby, Emily and Mark Bull, all of Penryn.
He was preceded in death by his parents, his wife, Ivalee Bull; and a son, Mark Bull.