Obituaries : * Bonnie Bullough; Initiated Nurse Practitioner Movement

Bonnie Bullough, a nursing professor and sociologist who launched the nurse practitioner movement in California and became internationally known as an author and scholar, has died. She was 69.

Bullough succumbed to pneumonia April 12 at Kaiser Permanente Medical Center in Woodland Hills, according to Vern Bullough, her husband of 49 years.

Born Jan. 5, 1927, in Delta, Utah, Bonnie Uckerman suffered serious burns as a child, resulting in an extended hospital stay that was the impetus for her career in health care.

“She always wanted to do more for patients and clients,” said Vern Bullough. “She was friendly and outgoing and always willing to help people.”

In 1943, Bullough moved to Salt Lake City, where she met Vern, and they became high school sweethearts. The couple married four years later.

After a brief stay in Santa Rosa, Calif., Bullough attended the University of Utah before receiving her bachelor’s degree from Youngstown State University in Ohio. After earning two master’s degrees and a doctorate in sociology from UCLA, Bullough began her teaching career at the university.

In 1966, Bullough moved to Egypt, where, as a Fulbright scholar, she taught briefly at the University of Cairo before returning to UCLA.

In 1968, Bullough and a group of physicians developed California’s first nurse practitioner program at UCLA. Nurse practitioners--who receive extra training in a specific area--perform many of the duties that were once solely the responsibility of physicians.

In the 1970s, despite strong opposition from the nursing establishment, Bullough created a postgraduate nurse practitioner specialty at UCLA and Cal State Long Beach.

“Bonnie felt that well-trained nurses were not being utilized in the medical field and that physicians were doing a number of things that nurses could do at least as well,” said Warren M. Campbell, a CSUN political science professor and longtime friend of the Bulloughs. “She was very important in that movement. . . . It really changed nursing.”

From 1980 to 1993, Bullough served as a professor and dean at State University of New York, Buffalo, then moved to Northridge. After a brief retirement, she joined USC as a full professor, a position she held until her death.

Bullough wrote or edited about 30 books, frequently collaborating with her husband. Having garnered more than $1.5 million in research grants during her career, Bullough wrote more than 100 articles on health care, birth control and human sexuality.

Because of her books and research, Bullough was a popular speaker. She gave addresses or presented papers throughout the United States and in many countries, including Cuba, Russia, Ghana and Spain. She was the keynote speaker this month at a nurse practitioner convention in San Diego.

In addition to her husband, Bullough is survived by three sons, James Bullough-Latsch of Chatsworth, Steven Bullough of Northridge and Michael Bullough of Tujunga; a daughter, Susan Bullough of Tujunga; a brother, Levoy Dempsey of Boise, Idaho, and one granddaughter.

A memorial service will be held at 3 p.m. Sunday at Sepulveda Unitarian-Universalist Society, 9550 Haskell Ave., North Hills.

In lieu of flowers, the family requests that memorial donations be made to the USC department of nursing or the school of nursing at SUNY Buffalo.

*

Bucaro, Anthony, 75, of Sunland, retired tool and die maker for Consolidated Containers. Bade Mortuary, Tujunga.

Campbell, Cathelene, 87, of Pacoima, homemaker. Rucker’s Mortuary, Pacoima.

LaDomade, Henry, 66, of North Hollywood, retired regional sales manager for Beckett Corp. Forest Lawn Mortuary, Hollywood Hills.

Madison, Gladys Corine, 87, of Sunland, retired nursing assistant for Olive View-UCLA Medical Center. Bade Mortuary, Tujunga.

Morgan, Donald Pierce, 88, of Sunland, retired landscape architect for the Adamson Co. Bade Mortuary, Tujunga.

Robinson, Steven Patrick, 45, of Tujunga, self-employed auto body repairman. Bade Mortuary, Tujunga.

Serres, Kody Randolph, 12, of Lancaster, student at Sunnydale Elementary School. Halley-Olsen Funeral Chapel, Lancaster.

Soto-Morales, Maria, 94, of Glendale, homemaker. Woods Glendale Mortuary, Glendale.

Youngblood, Donald A., 42, of Sun Valley, security guard for Warner Bros. Studios. Forest Lawn Mortuary, Hollywood Hills.

*

Obituaries are published free of charge as a public service to readers. They are based on information provided by mortuaries.