A highly popular musical Jackson High School music instructor, Chris Bullion, died Monday at the Ohio State University Medical Center after a lingering and serious illness. He was 48 years old.
Bullion served as a vocal music and choir director and assistant band director for the Jackson City Schools since 2002 and was involved in musical productions. In the community, he was a conductor for the D.M. Davis Male Voice Choir. At the time of his death, he was still employed by the Jackson City Schools but illness forced him to go on long-term sick leave in the middle part of the 2009-2010 school year.
A local memorial service will be conducted at the Jackson Middle School auditorium at 7 p.m. Monday, August 2 with the Rev. Matt McKee officiating.
"Chris was very cooperative and accommodating as an employee and certainly was a team player," Jackson Superintendent of Schools Phil Howard said Tuesday. "He was highly respected and very well-liked by both the students and the staff. He took a lot of pride in his work as evidenced by the successful vocal music program in the Jackson City Schools. He had a positive impact on many students and will be greatly missed."
Christopher Dean Bullion, whose parents were from Lucasville, was a graduate of Morehead State University and earned a masters degree from the University of Maryland. His 22-year career in education included teaching stints with the Kyger Creek, Gallipolis and Jackson school districts.
Mr. Bullion's obituary states: "He took a great joy in preparing his choirs for contest where they consistently achieved high ratings, as well as preparing students for Solo and Ensemble competitions where they excelled. Beloved by many, he leaves a legacy of students, colleagues and friends who will carry on the valuable life lessons he taught."
Mr. Bullion often said, "There are choirs who need students and then there are students who need the choir."
The obituary also stated: "He gave every student a chance to sing in the choir, regardless of talent and was generous in his time and resources to help his students. Everyone who knew him was touched by him in some way. He had a quick wit and loved to use it to make people laugh. A favorite pastime was gathering folks around the piano to belt out show tunes while he played."
In lieu of flowers, contributions may be made to the Jackson City Schools to establish a music scholarship in Chris's memory.
