August 18, 1940 – October 4, 2024
Larry Ben “Bear” Bulington, 84, died on Friday, October 4, 2024. He was born at home on August 18, 1940, west of Monon, Ind. His parents were Don and Ida (Denton) Bulington. On August 15, 1964, he married Jane E. Frederick and they shared 60 years of marriage.
He was an Eagle Scout and graduated from Monon High School in 1958. He joined the U.S. Navy in 1959, where he served on the USS Newport News and participated in the U.S. Blockade of Cuba in October 1962. He became an Indiana State Trooper and then a steel mill worker at Inland Steel in Gary. In 1965 he became a UAW line worker at the Dana-Spicer plant in Toledo, Ohio. In October 1968, he was recognized as a hero by the City of Toledo for diving into the Ottawa River at risk of his own life to retrieve a motorist who had gone off a bridge and plummeted into the river. In 1978 he returned to Monon to farm and work as a foreman at Monon Trailer, later becoming a superintendent at Wabash National Trailer factory in Lafayette. Most recently he served as Senior Advisor for Operations Productivity at Autocar Trucks in Birmingham, Ala.
Larry was a lifelong athlete with interests in a wide range of sporting activities, including auto racing, basketball, volleyball, Tae Kwon Do, and bicycling. A fan of classic country, rhythm and blues, and rock and roll, Larry was also a fine dancer and roller-skater. Above all, he was an extraordinary family man who was loved by many.
He is survived by his wife of over 60 years Jane (Frederick) Bulington; sons, Jeff (Susanne) and Mike Bulington; grandchildren, Carter and Elz Bulington; and several nieces and nephews.
He was preceded in death by his parents, brother, Earl Donald Bulington; and sisters, Louise (Bulington) George, and Alice (Bulington) Fink.
The family has entrusted Hartley Funeral Homes with Larry’s care.
Online condolences may be made at hartleyfuneralhomes.com.