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    Thomason’s plans growth and with it, a broader distribution of its famous baked beans

    Thomason’s plans growth and with it, a broader distribution of its famous baked beans

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    WEHT/WTVW employees rally for their union

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    Pitching ace Kemp uses bat to send Lady Cols to state again

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    Blazing-fast broadband services now available to the majority of homes in the city and county

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    HCHS grad Tyler Brocato currently competing in a national chef competition

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    Thomason’s plans growth and with it, a broader distribution of its famous baked beans

    Thomason’s plans growth and with it, a broader distribution of its famous baked beans

    BRIEFS: HCPL hosts Veterans Resource Fair; City High class of ’75 reunion; HPD wants help finding car thieves

    WEHT/WTVW employees rally for their union

    WEHT/WTVW employees rally for their union

    Good News: Habitat breaks ground on another build; future owner ‘overwhelmed with joy’

    Good News: Habitat breaks ground on another build; future owner ‘overwhelmed with joy’

    Pittsburg uses new construction process to build a new type of water storage tank

    Pittsburg uses new construction process to build a new type of water storage tank

    Pitching ace Kemp uses bat to send Lady Cols to state again

    Pitching ace Kemp uses bat to send Lady Cols to state again

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    Blazing-fast broadband services now available to the majority of homes in the city and county

    Blazing-fast broadband services now available to the majority of homes in the city and county

    HMP&L signs initial agreement to build a battery energy storage system on South Green Street

    HMP&L signs initial agreement to build a battery energy storage system on South Green Street

    In some parts of the U.S., the grid of the future might be closer than you think

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    The Gnomes of Audubon Forest, a Henderson Tourist Commission initiative, is a scavenger hunt for all ages

    Executive director says this year’s arts alliance lineup gives people what they want

    Executive director says this year’s arts alliance lineup gives people what they want

    2000 baseball Cols remember fondly state championship season a quarter century later

    2000 baseball Cols remember fondly state championship season a quarter century later

    Summer Sunset Series, SummerFest ratchet up Henderson festival season this week

    Summer Sunset Series, SummerFest ratchet up Henderson festival season this week

    May the summer blockbuster season begin!

    May the summer blockbuster season begin!

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    The Gnomes of Audubon Forest, a Henderson Tourist Commission initiative, is a scavenger hunt for all ages

    The Gnomes of Audubon Forest, a Henderson Tourist Commission initiative, is a scavenger hunt for all ages

    No Kentucky Home, Part 4: A missing bench comes to symbolize missing solutions to homelessness

    No Kentucky Home, Part 3: A church called its vision for housing a ‘Beacon of Hope.’ The mayor had concerns.

    No Kentucky Home, Part 2: After living outdoors for weeks, she got a place to sleep, a shower — and a job

    HCHS grad Tyler Brocato currently competing in a national chef competition

    HCHS grad Tyler Brocato currently competing in a national chef competition

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Roy Pullam, beloved teacher instrumental in long list of community initiatives, has died

Vince Tweddell by Vince Tweddell
September 26, 2024
in Local
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Fighting for his life, Roy Pullam still wants to fight for the lives of others

Roy Pullam, who died Sunday evening, is shown during his teaching days at North Junior High School. Pullam taught for 40 years, first at Henderson City High School and then at North Junior High School. (Photo courtesy of Henderson County Public Library archives)

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Longtime educator and community champion Roy Pullam died Sunday evening after a battle with cancer.

His wife, Velma, sent an email Monday morning that he had died at 6:05 p.m.

In the fall of 2023, Pullam was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer as well as lung cancer after having open heart surgery. 

Butch Puttman, one of his best friends who will speak at Pullam’s funeral, told the Hendersonian Monday morning that Pullam was a man “with extraordinary kindness.”

Puttman believed his friend’s kindness was borne from a childhood lived in poverty. Pullam grew up in Providence where he learned the pain of hunger. “I knew the shame of being ragged and I knew how it made me feel…..which was much worse,” said Pullam in a previous Hendersonian profile article about him.

Puttman said that Pullam was a beloved educator because he taught more than what was in books—he taught patience, kindness, empathy and courage, Puttman said.

“These were the tenets he lived his life by,” Puttman said. “He tried to instill them in everyone around him.”

In July, a gathering organized by former students allowed Pullam to say goodbye to his past students and community members he’d worked with for decades. It was estimated that at least 250 people came to speak with him.

They came that day from not only Henderson, Evansville and Providence, but also Louisville, Lexington, East Tennessee and even Florida. A Zoom call was also set up so that those who could not attend the reception in person could still have an opportunity to speak with Pullam. Some waited in line for more than an hour. (Read that past article here.)

In addition to his work in the school system, Pullam also championed many community causes and organizations. According to Puttman, Pullam’s mind never stopped, always thinking about ways to improve the community.

“He was a one-man think tank,” Puttman said.

A list of Pullam’s work includes:

  • Taught at Henderson City High School and North Junior High (later Middle) School, where he led many extracurricular activities. Pullam started in 1968 and retired in 2008
  • Headed the Jr. Optimist program at North. Pullam estimates that he and his students collected 110,000 canned goods and 8,000 coats throughout the years that went to the less fortunate. He was also the Optimist president
  • Started a program to gather and fix bicycles. Bicycles were taken to the Henderson County Detention Center where they were fixed and then moved to the Salvation Army to be given way. Puttman said the program has given away more than 2,000 bicycles
  • Started a program to find and clean computers that were also given away. He said that program is responsible for 131 computer gifts
  • Member of the Henderson County Public Library Foundation Board
  • Member of fundraising board for the Preston Arts Center
  • Started the community garden at the Henderson County Detention Center. The garden every year donates produce to the Salvation Army, Women’s Addiction Recovery Manor, the Gathering Place and the Fr. Bradley Shelter for Women and Children, he said.
  • He also did work with Riverview School and organized the Salvation Army Golf Scramble
  • Started a program at the YMCA that allowed every third-grade student in Henderson County school system the chance to get free swim lessons. In the nine-week program, students were bussed to the YMCA during the school day to receive instruction
  • Started and ran Bonnet Productions, in which high school and junior high school students interviewed newsmakers throughout the state. Bonnet Productions video recordings are housed in the public library. They have also been added to the Louie B. Nunn Center for Oral History, University of Kentucky Libraries.

“I don’t know anyone else like him to be honest with you,” Puttman said. “I can truly say without a doubt they broke the mold on old Roy Pullam. Quite a guy.”

Pullam’s funeral arrangements will be handled by Rudy Rowland Funeral Home.

***

To read a profile of Roy Pullam that was first published in the December 2023 issue of the Hendersonian, click here.

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Vince Tweddell

Vince Tweddell

Vince Tweddell is the founder, publisher and editor of the Hendersonian.

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