Obituary of Marcia S. Bulger

Marcia S. Bulger, 82, of Cortland passed away on Wednesday, January 21, 2026 at St. Joseph’s Hospital Health Center after a brief illness. Marcia was born August 25, 1943 in Cuba, N.Y. to Earl and Agnes (Cartwright) Stearns, and was raised in the nearby town of Friendship. She earned her Bachelor of Science in Physical Education from S.U.N.Y. College at Cortland in 1965. She married Charles “Terry” Bulger on August 7, 1965, and they made Cortland their home. When she returned to full-time classroom teaching in 1985, she resumed her education at Syracuse University, completing her Master of Science in Special Education in 1993.

Marcia devoted many years to education, working at the Cortland YWCA and YMCA, tutoring high-risk and incarcerated youths through the Cortland Youth Bureau, and ultimately retiring from OCM BOCES in Cortland, where she helped many students in the Cortland area earn their GED. Marcia gave her time and energy to numerous community organizations, including AAUW, Delta Kappa Gamma, the American Red Cross, the Learn-to-Swim program at Wickwire Pool, and the Cortland County Community Services Board. A lifetime member of Girl Scouts, she led the Brownie Girl Scout Troop at St. Mary’s School for over 20 years. She was deeply involved in the Cortland City Fire Auxiliary and the Ladies Auxiliary of the Central New York Firefighter’s Association, serving multiple terms as an officer in those organizations. She was also an avid card player and enjoyed traveling with the Cortland County Senior Citizens.

Marcia was a communicant of St. Mary’s Roman Catholic Church, a member of the St. Mary’s Church Choir, and a 30-year member and past Regent of the Catholic Daughters of The America’s Court #919 Cortland.

Survivors include: her two daughters, Michelle Bulger and Elizabeth Bulger, both of Baltimore, Maryland, sisters-in-law Eleanore Stearns (the late Cleo), Margaret Grant (the late Michael), and Susan Bulger (the late William), brothers-in-law Timothy Bulger (Linda) and James Bulger (Helen), and several nieces, nephews, and cousins. In addition to her parents, Marcia was preceded in death by her husband Terry in 1999, by her brothers, Lloyd and Cleo Stearns, and by her in-laws, William Bulger III, and Catherine and Raymond Niehus.

A Mass of Christian Burial will be celebrated on Saturday Feb 7, 2026 at 10:30 a.m. in St. Mary’s Catholic Church, The Christian Rite of committal and burial will follow in St. Mary’s Catholic Cemetery.
The family will be present to receive friends on Friday Feb 6, 2026 from 4-6 p.m. in the Chapel of Riccardi Funeral Home, 69 N. Main St.Cortland. In lieu of flowers, those who choose to honor Marcia’s memory in the form of a contribution are asked to please consider;
Cortland County SPCA cortlandspca.org or the Cortland Community Foundation cortlandcf.org

Condolences may also be sent to the family by visiting www.riccardifuneralhome.com