By Marilyn Olson, Executive Director, VillagesOKC

VillagesOKC has exciting member and staff news as the New Year begins. On the staff side, there are two promotions to announce. On the member side, one member has accepted the position of VillagesOKC Director of Veteran Initiatives, and another will lead a monthly Alzheimer Support Group at the Bethany Library.
Amy Shirola, previously operations manager, assumes a new role as director of administration and finance. Britni Bergman, previously office assistant, becomes office manager. On the member side, Gary Banz is the new Director of Veteran Initiatives. Herb Magley will lead the Alzheimer Support Group.
Shirola will oversee all accounting functions, including analyzing financial data and managing budgeting and planning processes. She started working with VillagesOKC in March 2022 after 15 years in corporate accounting. Her entrepreneurial experiences include two food-based businesses – Pie Prerogative OKC and 2 Women and a Whisk Catering Company.
Bergman will oversee all office functions and vendor relations, as well as managing the robust VillagesOKC calendar. She has been the office assistant since November 2022. Her past experience includes six years in a variety of roles with Red Rock Behavioral and Mental Health Services in Yukon and Oklahoma City. Before coming to VillagesOKC, she was office manager for Sarah Libby Photography.
“The promotion of these two professionals highlights their exemplary performance,” said VillagesOKC Executive Director Marilyn Olson. “Ms Shirola and Ms Bergman are part of the organization’s long-term plan for sustainability. Having an intergenerational workforce brings energy and wisdom. And, with this organization there is great work flexibility which is so important to young parents. VillagesOKC is making great strides due to the talent and heart from these leaders, and we honor their success.”
Banz is a former Oklahoma state representative and high school social studies and American Government teacher. He was honored by the Oklahoma Military Hall of Fame for organizing and serving as flight commander on 24 Oklahoma Honor Flights which took 2,055 Oklahoma World War II, Korean War and Vietnam War veterans to Washington, DC, for an all-expenses paid day trip to visit war memorials. He has written and produced two documentaries honoring service members and is working on a third.
Magley is a retired geologist who spent 43 years working in the oil industry. Tragedy struck late in his career when after 35 years of marriage, his wife, Gail, developed Alzheimer’s disease at the age of 54. Magley retired from the oil industry to care for her. The couple went on an 11-year journey with the disease. After his wife died, Magley decided to dedicate his life to those who were on their journeys with Alzheimer’s. The VillagesOKC sponsored Alzheimer’s Support Group will meet monthly beginning January 16 at the Bethany Library. Meetings will be on successive third Tuesdays of the month from 6-7 p.m. in Meeting Room B.
To learn more about VillagesOKC, call or text (405) 990-6637 or email [email protected].

Wade Vlosich

OKC Veterans Administrator Healthcare System director.

Story by Van Mitchell, Staff Writer

The Oklahoma City Veterans Affairs Oklahoma City Healthcare System has become the fastest-growing VA in the nation, according to Fiscal Year 2023 statistics.
Wade Vlosich, OKC VA HCS director, attributes the rapid growth to community engagement and outreach efforts, particularly to isolated Veterans.
“Many Veterans are not sure if they are eligible for VA healthcare,” Vlosich said. “We have traveled to remote locations to personally reach out to our Veteran population and provide answers to their questions through our PACT Act resource fairs.”
In August and September of this year, Vlosich said OKC VA averaged about 22 new registrations a day.
“Overall, this fiscal year, we saw 13,994 first-time users, which was 18 percent of our overall users within the Oklahoma City VA,” he said. “That is about a 20 percent increase over the last four years, when most other VA facilities average between 1-3 percent annual growth.
Vlosich said keeping up with established patients with so many new patients coming in presents a challenge, but the facility is also expanding and growing to meet all satisfaction and clinical care needs.
With new equipment arriving and construction constantly happening, Vlosich is often seen in scrubs instead of a suit as he inspects new specialty and construction areas throughout the downtown facility.
Expansion is the primary focus for this health care system which includes Community-Based Outpatient Clinics (CBOC). The VA now has two clinics in North OKC, including one that provides dental care.
VHA implemented these clinics to make access to health care easier. These clinics provide the most common outpatient services, including health and wellness visits, without the hassle of visiting a larger medical center. VHA continues to expand their network of CBOCs to include more rural locations, making access to care closer to home. One of its newest rural clinics is in Shawnee, OK.

“Oklahoma City (VA) has grown by 22 percent total since 2019,” Vlosich said. “We’re growing so rapidly, and we’re trying to build all these new clinics. For instance, new clinics are pending approval to be built in Woodward and we’re expanding our Stillwater and Yukon clinics.”
Another area of growth is occurring among this facility’s female Veteran population. Expanded services for women now include a mammography clinic and plans to build a new women’s only stand-alone clinic.
Other plans include securing facilities for inpatient services, substance abuse treatment and long-term care as well as opening a Fisher House for Veterans’ families.
Vlosich said the VA has acquired the former Norman Specialty Hospital near the corner of Robinson Street and Berry Road to convert into a new VA hospital, and is redesigning the facility to meet both the inpatient substance abuse and skilled nursing facility building requirements.
The new hospital will have 53 beds — 26 for skilled nursing, and 26 for inpatient substance abuse treatment — and serve up to 78,000 veterans who live in the Oklahoma City area.
The 26 substance abuse beds will be used for the highest level of rehabilitation services for patients who are diagnosed with alcohol or drug addictions or substance use disorder.
“One of the things that some of our younger and older veterans face is substance abuse treatment issues,” Vlosich said. “We’re building a substance abuse treatment facility in Norman to help with that. There are none in the state of Oklahoma right now.”
Vlosich said homelessness with Veterans is a growing problem in Oklahoma.
OKC VA HCS previously launched a mobile medical unit to treat the homeless population and even established their own ambulance service.
“We’ve got a great homeless program here in Oklahoma City,” he said. “We are the second VA in the nation to get a mobile homeless van. We call it MMU, Mobile Medical Unit, and they travel around different areas providing healthcare to homeless veterans at their homeless camps or the homeless shelters because a lot of them don’t want to come in, they have mental health issues or other things. We’ll drive out there and provide medical care to our homeless veterans and bring the van back in.”
Vlosich said the OKC VA HCS continues to work with the Housing and Urban Development (HUD) and Veterans Affairs Supportive Housing (VASH) Programs to expand their capabilities.
The goal of OKC VA HCS leadership is to eliminate Veteran homelessness by providing shelter, transitional and permanent housing to Veterans to those who need it the most. Some examples are providing employment and different legal services through the Veterans Justice Outreach program.
Throughout 2022, VA staff helped Veterans find permanent housing such as apartments or houses that Veterans could rent or own, often with a subsidy to help make the housing affordable. VA staff also helped some Veterans end their homelessness by reuniting them with family and friends.
Vlosich said Veterans have another tool with the VA Health Chat which allows Veterans to immediately connect with VA health care clinicians over text-messaging.
The VA Health Chat App provides easy, online access to chat with VA staff when you have minor health questions, want to schedule an appointment, have a non-life-threatening health concern, and more.
“We’ve instituted an app now that if you need to talk to somebody in our community care office, you can go online and chat with them through the app as opposed to spending 30, 40 minutes on the phone. It’s easier,” he said.
Vlosich said the Promise to Address Comprehensive Toxics (PACT) Act is one of the largest VA Health Care expansion programs and extends eligibility for Veterans who have been exposed or possibly exposed to toxic environments while serving in Vietnam, Gulf War, and post-9/11 eras.

Over the last year, Indian Health Service (IHS) and The Department of Veteran Affairs have partnered together, holding PACT Act outreach events across Oklahoma. This joint effort has assisted Tribal, non-Tribal Veterans, and Veterans in rural areas to receive healthcare services, education, and other benefits they deserve.
Vlosich said hiring fairs and recruitment incentives have helped bring new employees on board.
“On average, we’re bringing on about 30 to 40 staff members every two weeks just to meet demand,” Vlosich said. “We’ve added new primary care teams for most of our community-based outpatient clinics.”
Vlosich also acknowledged the efforts of current employees during this season of growth. He said OKC VA employees have stepped up to meet Veterans’ needs.
“They’ve worked overtime,” he said. “During COVID, we had employees spending the night in the hospital just to take care of our Veterans. We appreciate their dedication because, without them, many could go without healthcare, and our Veterans are our most precious resource.”
For more information on the PACT Act see the press release on page 11.

Recent Second Half Expo Brings Resources Together For Seniors in Oklahoma

Story and photos by Van Mitchell, staff writer

Bob Loudermilk and his wife, Denise, moved from Wichita, Kan. to Edmond in 2016 so they could be closer to family in Oklahoma.
Loudermilk, who was previously in the trade-show business, sold his business before moving to the Sooner State. He soon began researching and exploring opportunities to work with the senior population in Oklahoma.
The end result was the creation of the Second Half Expo which just concluded their third annual event on Oct. 21, 2023 at the National Cowboy & Western Heritage Museum, 1700 NE 63rd St, Oklahoma City.
The 2024 Second Half Expo is scheduled for Oct. 19 at the same location.
The Expo is tailored to people who are in the “second half” of their lives who are looking to connect with the resources needed to live the way that they have always imagined. Up to 130 of Oklahoma’s businesses are present at each expo, providing education and demonstrations of the products and services that are available for the 50+ generation.
Loudermilk said each expo attracts up to 1,500 seniors, and that they plan to continue making each year bigger and better.
“We had to push on it three times because of Covid, the first one,” Loudermilk said. “It was a big success, lots of wonderful feedback. This year was another success we’re very grateful for.”
Loudermilk said he wanted to put his business background to use helping Oklahoma seniors.
“With my background in trade shows, I started looking at this 50+ demographic and retirees,” he said. “The deeper I went, the more I saw an opportunity, because we have 10,000 Baby Boomers turning 65 every day in America. And, that spells challenges for our retirement system economy, but it also really spells opportunity.”
Loudermilk touched base with people that serve the 50+ community for more input.
“I began to meet people that cater to or serve the 50+ community,” he said. “We started having little forums to talk about what can be done, what is needed in the community to serve the people above 50. We concluded that a quality, annual event for seniors was needed so I teamed up with a local radio host and magazine publisher, and together we launched the Expo.”
Loudermilk said each Expo is loaded with fun and activities, including free educational seminars, food samples, drawings for prizes and music from some of Oklahoma’s best talent.
Second Half Expo is supported by knowledgeable experts in their fields of health, business, motivation, senior living, retirement planning and more to help you discover what’s next for you.
“For too long, the concept of aging has a negative connotation in the minds of some,” Loudermilk said. “Our mission is to change that outdated mindset. We firmly believe the senior years can be lived with dignity and purpose with the right guidance and resources. We’re (Second Half Expo) here to support seniors and the adult children of seniors who are honoring and assisting their aging parents. The whole idea is to give people above 50 and their families an opportunity, in one day, to explore and visit with organizations that are resources for them, education for them, products, services.”
Loudermilk said the Expo attracts seniors that are retired, and are looking at what services are available to them, as well as younger seniors not ready to retire yet.
“The other demographic within this is the younger people above 50, and they’re very active,” he said. “Some of them want to start a business. They’re looking at opportunities to travel, and we cater to that as well.”
Loudermilk said the 2023 Expo had an added chapter.
“This year we added something new that we’d never done,” he said. “We started what we call Second Half Heroes as a part of the expo, where people can go to our website and nominate someone that is above the age of 65. We select and celebrate someone each year that we feel will be an inspiration to others. Our Second Half Heroes are doing things. They’re very active and they serve the community in a way that is noteworthy.”
This year’s selected Second Half Hero, Jim Stewart, age 71, was honored at the recent expo. He is a leader in the non-profit sector and a board member of a foster care non-profit.
Stewart spent 20 years serving in prison ministry and he recently started Heroes In Waiting (501c3), to provide solutions and hope for the bullying and mental health crises among youth.
His Heroes In Waiting non-profit was awarded a $500 donation from the Second Half Expo, to celebrate his selection as their inaugural Second Half Hero.
Loudermilk said more exciting changes are coming in 2024.
“We’re also doing some additional things leading up to the next expo,” he said. “We have what we call Coffee Talks. Those will be monthly starting in January where people can come and be a part of the 50+ community. There’s usually an inspirational and/or educational speaker along with a free continental breakfast and coffee.”
Loudermilk said the annual Expo includes an added bonus as participants can visit the National Cowboy & Western Heritage Museum at no extra charge on the day of the event.
“The other idea was to give the seniors an opportunity free that day, not only to attend the expo, but also to tour the museum,” he said. “Everybody that attends, they get a free ticket to the museum. The expo closes at 1 p.m. and then they can spend the rest of the day exploring the museum.”
Loudermilk said he didn’t know what to expect after putting on the initial Second Half Expo.
“I had no idea what to expect when we started. The first year was challenging and we had to postpone three times due to the pandemic. But our wonderful exhibitors stayed with us and fully supported our inaugural event, which was highly successful.”
Loudermilk credits God for giving him guidance for the Second Half Expo.
“I give the Lord credit for what He’s done through this,” Loudermilk said. “I’m extremely pleased with what He has brought about and the ongoing opportunities we have to encourage and serve our seniors in Oklahoma.”
For more information visit https://secondhalfexpo.com

by Van Mitchell, Staff Writer

Joella Francis credits God for leading her into a RN nursing career that has spanned over 50 years, including today at age 79, where she continues to work part-time at Pioneer Technology Center in Ponca City.
“I will be a nurse forever. I would never change my vocation,” she said. “I give all my credit to Jesus Christ because I’m a Christian, and so He has led me and guided me all the way. He gives me the ability to have, I think, a real love towards patients and people. I couldn’t do it without the Lord. I haven’t always given Him credit, but now when I look back on my life, I’m almost 80, I know He was there and guiding me all the way.
Francis’ nursing journey began at a young age.
“My grandmother on my dad’s side was a dietary aide at Wesley Hospital in Wichita, and I would go with her when she passed snacks to patients. I couldn’t go in the rooms, but I could help her get the snacks ready and be up on the floors when we passed them to the patients. That is where I got my first thoughts that I might want to be a nurse.”
Francis graduated from the University of Oklahoma in 1966. During her education, she worked as a student nurse for OU Children’s Hospital for $8 per shift as a junior and $10 per shift as a senior nursing student. She met her husband Richard during her time at OU and they were married when she was a junior in nursing school.
After graduation, she worked for Children’s Hospital for approximately two years. Francis and her husband later moved to Norman where he attended OU.
“We moved to Norman and I went to work for Primrose Nursing Home. I worked there for about three years. After having our first child, I returned to the workforce for the Norman Public School as a practical nursing instructor. I was only there about a year, and then we moved to Duncan, and that’s where I did most of my nursing at the Medical Center Hospital in Duncan, which is what it was called then, she said.
Francis said she wore several hats working at Duncan.
“I did all kinds of things there,” she said. “I’ve been an educator, Director of Nursing. I was a house supervisor. I helped set up their first coronary care unit, because they were just being developed at that time. I think it was the early seventies. A couple of other nurses and I went to coronary care school for two weeks and then set up the system for the hospital. During that time, I had two more children. I continued to work full-time, but because of family obligations, I worked nights in ICU, ER and supervisor for several years. I also started to do some part-time teaching at Red River Technology Center as a practical nursing instructor.”
Francis said they were in the homebuilding business in Duncan, and when the oil bust came in 1985, they moved to Texas.
“I worked in an ICU in San Marcos during that time,” she said. “We then moved to McAlester due to my husband’s job. I went to work at McAlester Hospital in ICU and then I worked for Kiamichi Technology Center as a practical nursing instructor.”
Due to better job opportunities, they decided to move back to Duncan where Francis became the Coordinator for the Practical Nursing program at Red River Technology Center.
“Because of our children being college age, we moved to Stillwater and I then began working at Meridian Technology Center as a practical nursing instructor,” she said. “We moved to Connecticut for my husband’s job and I went to work for a large nursing home facility as a nursing educator.”
Francis said during that time, her parents who lived in Braman needed care as her dad was very sick.
“On my way home to Ponca City, my daughter called me and said there was a Practical Nursing Coordinator job at the Ponca City Pioneer Technology Center,” she said. “I worked there for about 10 years as the Practical Nursing Coordinator and retired in 2010.”
Francis didn’t stay retired long.
“I stayed off for about three years, and then (Pioneer Technology Center) called me,” she said. “Because I have nursing home experience and was an RN, they needed someone to check off nurse aides testing skills. They have to do a skills checkoff, and they need somebody to come and do their skills checkoff testing. I’m still working, but it’s like every other month. Sometimes I work three days, sometimes it’s two days. It depends on how big their nurse aide class is.”
Francis said one of her joys from nursing has been taking care of patients.
“I’ve always loved nursing. I love taking care of people. I love being with students and patients together,” she said. “My favorite thing besides just being a plain old nurse, was to be with the students and with their patients and helping them learn, and see students grow in their knowledge and see students pass their boards. It is a joy to see young ladies or gentlemen, who thought they couldn’t do anything in this world become very good Practical Nurses.”
Francis said she enjoys being a mentor to nursing students.
“A lot of them go on and get their RN, so I feel like I’ve been an instrument in helping them to realize that life is out there for them, and they can do things,” she said. “I’m very proud of my students that I had because a lot of them didn’t think they could do anything when they came to our school.”
Francis turns 80 in March, and has no plans to slow down anytime soon. She has just completed her CEU’s required to renew her license in March.
“I don’t ever consider myself an old lady, but I know I am,” she said. “I don’t ever see myself as that, because I stay very active in what I do. That’s another reason I like to work. I help with art in the Christian school at our church. I stay very, very active. I have many hobbies, 13 grandchildren to love, I do not plan to slow down yet. I give all that credit to the Lord for giving me good health.”

Loved all the entries. Let’s do it again! We have an ALL NEW CARTOON PAGE! Beetle Bailey, Blondie and Zit will be gracing our NewsMagazine and your job will be to locate TOONS related to those cartoons! You already know the routine. TOONS are scattered throughout this issue. Count the related TOONS and TEXT the total number, with your name and phone number, to 405-631-5100. 1st and 2nd texter with correct number, WINS a free one year subscription to SN&L ($43.75 value each) PLUS a $25 gift card! 3rd place wins a $25 Gift Card! All entries will receive a free copy of our digital Flip Page Edition of SN&L each month (you must provide an email address)! Everyone’s a winner! TOONS are not hidden, but look in stories, ads and features!
IMPORTANT NOTE: Contest begins January 5th and ends January 31! No entries will be accepted prior to 01/05/24.

* No purchase necessary * Must provide email address for digital edition. * FREE SUBSCRIPTIONS – Even with more than 500 locations to pick up a copy, you just can sit back and wait for your personal
copy – mailed first class directly to you!

VA delivered more than $2.2 billion in earned benefits to Veterans and survivors since President Biden signed PACT into law

Today, VA announced that Veterans and their survivors have filed more than one million claims for toxic exposure-related benefits under the PACT Act since President Biden signed it into law Aug. 10, 2022. VA has processed more than 551,000 of these claims, granting 77.9% of them and awarding more than $2.2 billion in earned benefits to Veterans and survivors. Supporting Veterans and their families is a core pillar in President Biden’s Unity Agenda for the nation, and today’s announcement helps deliver on his promise to comprehensively address military related toxic exposure.

Thanks to the largest outreach campaign in VA history, Veterans and survivors are applying for their earned benefits at record rates. In this fiscal year alone, Veterans and survivors have submitted 2.29 million total claims (PACT and non-PACT) — 40.4% more year-to-date than last fiscal year, which was the previous all-time record. Veterans have also submitted more than 2.1 million “intents to file” during this fiscal year — 53.1% more than all of last fiscal year and also an all-time record.

The PACT Act is the biggest expansion of Veteran health care and benefits in decades. VA encourages all eligible Veterans and survivors to file a claim — or submit their intent to file a claim — for PACT Act-related benefits now.

“Thanks to President Biden, the heroes who fought for our country are now getting health care and compensation for the conditions that followed them home from war,” said VA Secretary Denis McDonough. “We’re proud that more than one million Veterans and survivors have applied for their hard-earned benefits to date, but this is just the beginning — and we won’t rest until every Veteran and every survivor gets the VA health care and benefits they deserve.”

Partly due to the PACT Act, VA is delivering more care and more benefits to more Veterans than ever before. Key results to date include:

• Delivering benefits to Veterans and their survivors: VA has processed 1.85 million total Veteran claims (PACT and non-PACT) thus far in this fiscal year —15.7% more to date than last fiscal year and already surpassing last year’s all-time record total of 1.7 million claims processed.
• Increasing Veteran access to health care: Since Aug. 10, 378,995 Veterans have enrolled in VA health care. This includes more than 158,691 enrollees from the PACT Act population (Vietnam, Gulf War, and Post-9/11 era Veterans).
• Screening Veterans for toxic exposures: More than 4.4 million enrolled Veterans have received 5-minute screenings for toxic exposures from VA under the PACT Act.

Right now, there is also a special enrollment period for Veterans to enroll directly in VA health care without first applying for VA benefits. Specifically, until 11:59 p.m., local time, Sept. 30, Veterans who deployed to a combat zone, never enrolled in VA health care, and left active duty between Sept. 11, 2001, and Oct. 1, 2013, are eligible to enroll in VA health care without first applying for disability compensation benefits. VA encourages all of these Veterans to visit VA.gov/PACT or call 1-800-MYVA411 to learn more and sign up for VA health care before the deadline.

VA is delivering health care and benefits at record rates partly due to a dramatic increase in hiring at VA. For the first time in VA’s history, the Veterans Health Administration has over 400,000 employees and the Veterans Benefits Administration has over 31,000 employees — and both organizations are growing at the fastest rates in 20 years. Moving forward, VA will continue to modernize and expand capacity to deliver health care and benefits to Veterans as quickly and effectively as possible.

For more information on VA’s implementation of the PACT Act, visit the PACT Act Dashboard. VA is publishing this dashboard every other Friday to document the implementation of this legislation and showcase its impact on Veterans and survivors. The next dashboard, which will reflect the data in this release, will publish on Sept. 15.

Veterans and survivors may apply or learn more about the PACT Act by visiting VA.gov/PACT or calling 1-800-MYVA411.

Albert “Al” Hair

(Right) 100 years old. WWII Veteran Wm. Albert “Al” Hair of Ada was born on August 22, 1922. After the war, he worked for IBM & Boy Scouts, ultimately ending up in Chickasha where he worked for Washita Valley Community Action Agency & became a self-employed carpenter & painter.

Wilma Marie Goodwin

(Left) 100 years old. Wilma Marie Goodwin of Enid attended Enid Business College & was a bank teller. She has 6 children, 12 grandchildren & 20 great grandchildren. She enjoys the good food & family being together. Fried chicken is her favorite food. Her words of wisdom to younger people: “Have the Lord in your life and love your family!”

Hattie Powell

(Right) 100 years old. Hattie Powell lived most of her life in Beggs & celebrated her 100th birthday in Tulsa today. She graduated from Beggs HS, worked OSU Extension nutritionist & library assistant at Beggs schools. Her words of wisdom to younger people: “Be honest with yourself and others. Respect yourself and others. Recognize & acknowledge your faults & work to correct them. Obey God!”

Eula Mae Stewart

(Right) 100 years old. Eula Mae Stewart of Yukon was born on the 15th of December, 1923. She graduated from Red Oak High School and from secretarial school in Ft. Smith, Arkansas. Eula Mae had a 30-year career as an administrator with the Baptist General Convention of Oklahoma, retiring in 1989. Her words of wisdom to us are: Know that Jesus Loves You and Learn to Depend on Him. Respect Your Parents and Authority.

By Nick Thomas

For those who keep track of Hollywood nuptials, the title of Joyce Bulifant’s 2017 autobiography may not represent a marital world record, but it’s certainly an attention grabber. The actress, who co-starred in TV series such as “Flo” and “Mary Tyler Moore,” recounted her life and career in “My Four Hollywood Husbands.”
Bulifant describes how alcohol influenced her four hubbies: “Hawaii Five-O” star James (“Danno”) MacArthur; TV/film producer, director, and screenwriter William Asher; “Days of Our Lives” actor Edward Mallory; and her last husband actor Roger Perry who died in 2018.
“It was never my intention to marry famous Hollywood men, it just happened that way,” said Bulifant from Los Angeles. “I was 14 when I first met Jimmy (MacArthur) while we were at boarding school together and we started dating a couple of years later.”
She remembers her spouses as unhappy men especially MacArthur in their decade-long marriage.
“When he wasn’t working, he would drink more and it became a terrible situation,” she said. “I thought if I just loved them enough they wouldn’t need to drink and would become happy, but it just didn’t work that way.”
She remained happily married to her last husband Roger Perry although he too experienced some early rough patches. “He wanted to get better, so that’s why this marriage worked,” she said.
Career-wise, Bulifant has been successful on stage as well as in film and television, and was a frequent game show panelist in the 70s and 80s. She even appeared briefly in the classic 1980 comedy “Airplane!” as the mother of the sick little girl with the intravenous drip.
“I didn’t want to do that dadgum movie, I thought it was so silly,” she recalled. “I was married to William Asher at the time and he told me ‘You’re an actress – you act!’ Now it’s been called one of the 100 funniest movies ever made.”
But one major TV role did slip past.
“I was all signed, sealed, and delivered to play Mrs. Brady on ‘The Brady Bunch,’” she recalled. “One Friday, I was showing the director and producer (and writer, Sherwood Schwartz) my wardrobe but they were acting very strange. When I asked what was wrong they sat me down and said the executives at ABC in New York wanted Florence Henderson for the role.”
Schwartz called that evening confirming the bad news. “That’s the way it goes in this business,” said Bulifant. “Florence was a wonderful actress and a lovely lady.”
Concentrating on TV work, Bulifant only appeared in about a dozen films. Her first main feature role was in the 1967 Disney musical “The Happiest Millionaire,” memorable for her “Bye-Yum Pum Pum” song with Lesley Ann Warren. It would be the last live-action feature produced by Disney, who died a year before the film’s release.
Bulifant’s radiant cheerful on-screen personality and distinctive youthful voice made her a favorite comedic actress with audiences. Despite some missed career opportunities and the marital challenges, she has always remained optimistic.
“When you’re in the entertainment business, you have to deal with disappointment and rejection so if you don’t feel strong and confident about yourself it can be very disheartening,” she says. “That’s true for anyone with self-doubt which is why my book resonates with people from all walks of life. So I’m very pleased when I hear from people it has helped.”

Nick Thomas teaches at Auburn University at Montgomery, Alabama, and has written features, columns, and interviews for numerous newspapers and magazines.
See https://www.getnickt.org/.