Residents’
Review
January 2020
Volume 33, Issue 1
Citizens Memorial Healthcare Facility is an affiliate of CMH, Bolivar, Mo., 417-326-6000
Facility Location: 1218 West Locust St., Bolivar, MO 65613, 417-326-7648
INSIDE THIS ISSUE
Resident of the Month 1
Activity Photos 2
Employee Spotlight 3
Announcements 4
Calendar of Events 5
Birthdays 6
New Residents 6
Discharges 6
Sympathy 6
Our Mission
Caring for every generation
through exceptional services by
leading physicians and a
compassionate healthcare team.
Our Vision
Be the first choice for customer
focused healthcare to every
generation.
Our Values
I am...
P ositive
R espectful
I nnovative
D edicated
E mpowered
Together, we are CMH PRIDE!
Bula Thomas
Resident of the Month
Bula Thomas was born in 1923, in Jasper County, Missouri, to
Earl and Vertie Harvey. Vertie gave birth to Bula on their 120 acre
farm where they milked hundreds of cattle and tended their large
garden and apple and peach orchards. Bula was the fourth oldest sib-
ling to her brothers and sisters, Mildred, George, Velma, Bill, Mary
and Dorothy. Her only living sibling, Mary resides on the family
farm in Jasper County. The kids all helped milk the cattle, hoe many
acres of land for their crops, can vegetables and anything else they
could to help out.
Bula attended Sheridan, a one room school house through the
eighth grade, and then graduated from Jasper High School. Her and
her siblings walked a half a mile to school every day. While in
school, she met Leotta McNary. Leotta was in a car accident that
caused her to lose her arm, so Bula carried her books for her, studied
with her and they became best friends. Leotta had a nice looking
brother named Everett McNary Sr. who worked on a farm. He was a few years older than Bula and
when she met him, she made up her mind that she was going to marry him. They did not have much
money to spend on dating so they were unable to go out very often. “Gas was cheap, but it ran
through your car too fast to afford,” said Bula. On July 4, 1942, Bula married Everett and they had
a wonderful marriage of 43 years until his death in the 1980’s from a long illness. Everett and Bula
had two children, Marilyn and Everett Jr., four grandchildren, Sarah, Michelle, Amy and Cindy and
several great-grandchildren.
Bula worked as a Typesetter at Carthage Press and the Pentecostal Church of God Messenger
College for many years. She walked almost everywhere she went. At times she would take the trol-
ley to work in Carthage, Missouri.
A few years after Everett’s death, Bula met Azel Thomas at church while he was in the Navy
Reserves and married him in the Summer of 1987 at Frisco church in Webb City. “Once again, it
was love at first sight when I met him,” said Bula. While Azel was in the Navy, he had no time to
sight see while being stationed in multiple places, so he always had the desire to travel. The couple
travelled the United States together where they were able to visit all fifty states. She fondly remem-
bers spending time in San Antonio, Mount Saint Helens, two trips to Niagara Falls and beautiful
Hawaii where she got to hear Don Ho sing and play. Azel unfortunately had a stroke six years into
their marriage and passed away.
“The highlight of my life was the birth of my two wonderful children,” said Bula. “Another
favorite part was marrying both Everett and Azel.” She shared many happy times with both of
them.
“The wonderful memories of my mother stand out the most to me. She was a good woman,
worked harder than anyone I ever knew and always treated my siblings and I so well. She used to
hoe acres of land for our garden, canned hundreds of vegetables and fruits and made wonderful
sauerkraut. We also played many games together with her favorite being playing cards,” said Bula.
She always considered her love for attending auctions, quilting and travelling her favorite hob-
bies and was happiest when doing any of them.
Bula became part of our CMHCF family in August 2019. One of her favorite parts about being
here is having her granddaughter, Cindy Cain who is the Director of Social Services, with her every
day. She recalls a time years ago when Cindy was a small child and the family thought she might
have Cystic Fibrosis. Her family was with her in the hospital and attempted to get her to eat, but
they were unsuccessful. She then crawled into Bula’s lap and ate everything on the plate. Bula was
so proud.
Congratulations, Bula, on being chosen as CMHCF’s Resident of the Month!