WARSAW—Mollie Bullock Lovejoy of Warsaw, formerly of Smithfield and Charlottesville, passed away peacefully on February 5, 2019, at 71 years of age.
Mollie was the daughter of the late James L. Bullock and Alice Moore Bullock of Smithfield.
She is survived by her daughters, Amy Lindsay (Aaron) of Richmond and Jennifer McDougle (Justin) of New London, Wis.; four grandchildren, Jessica, Abigail, Connor and Camden; as well as her sisters, Elizabeth Holleman and Jamie Karabiac; brother, Dennis Bullock; and nieces, nephews and dear friends.
She was preceded in death by her brothers, James and William Bullock.
Mollie had a love for fun, people and was very civic-minded all while having a successful professional career in the assisted living industry; helping to create the industry as we know it today in Virginia.
While residing in Charlottesville when her daughters were growing up, Mollie operated a small private day care in her home and her civic participation began as she served as president of the PTA of her daughters’ elementary school. As her daughters entered high school, Mollie became active with the area High School Foreign Exchange Student Program, hosting many exchange students in their home. Many of the families Mollie met through these endeavors became lifelong friends.
Mollie found her passion caring for Virginia seniors as a Licensed Nursing Home Administrator and administrator with American Retirement Homes, Inc. For many years she was the administrator of Riverdale Assisted Living in Charlottesville and president of the Virginia Association for Home for Adults. During her tenure as VAHA president, Mollie had the opportunity to make groundbreaking industry change as she helped to develop the first medication aide and direct care staff curriculums in the state.
Mollie never missed an opportunity to attend the General Assembly in Richmond to advocate and champion change on behalf of the assisted living industry. Later in her career, Mollie relocated to Warsaw where she was able to devote more time training and mentoring many of today’s industry leaders. Virginia’s assisted living industry is what it is today in part to Mollie’s dedication and passion.
Mollie was recognized with an “Award of Dedication and Appreciation for 30 Plus Years of Service” from American Retirement Homes Inc. and an award for “Contributions to the Industry” from the Virginia Assisted Living Association upon her formal retirement from the industry.
Most recently, Mollie continued her love of helping people in her community of Warsaw where she saw an opportunity to grow and help others. She was a founding member of the Warsaw/Richmond County TRIAD, and served as chair and she also was an active member of the Warsaw Rotary Club where in true Mollie fashion, she served in several capacities on the board throughout her tenure.
As chairwoman of TRIAD she was responsible for procuring many local business men and women as well as prominent state officials as speakers for the local TRIAD meetings. Mollie’s civic participation garnered her recognition as “Outstanding Chair” during a State Triad Conference and an “Excellence in Service” award by the Warsaw Rotary Club.
Throughout her life Mollie enjoyed friends, family, a great movie or late night TV show, a good jigsaw or word puzzle, but most of all she loved and enjoyed spending time with and talking about her grandchildren. If you met Mollie you would never forget her!
A memorial celebration of Mollie’s life will be held at 11:30 a.m. March 2 at River Meadows, 42 Mitchell Avenue, Warsaw. In lieu of flowers, the family requests a donation to the local chapter of the Alzheimer’s Association in Mollie’s honor. www.alz.org.
