Tumpie Bannister Bull, Jr.

Tumpie Bannister Bull, Jr., known as Sonny in his youth, passed away peacefully at his home in Myrtle Beach surrounded by loved ones on Thursday, December 24, 2025, after a hard fought 5 year battle with metastatic prostate cancer.

He was born in Holly Hill, SC, on April 22, 1944, to Tumpie Bannister Bull, Sr., and Edna Pretorius Bull. He grew up in Holly Hill, graduating from Holly Hill High School, and enjoyed an active life revolving around football and especially baseball, experienced many adventures hunting and fishing with his childhood friend Thurman Elliott, and as he got older took great pleasure in tinkering with and working on cars.

Tumpie met his future wife Joyce Delilah Still in his freshman year at the University of South Carolina, and they married following their sophomore year on August 26, 1964, in Walterboro, SC. After graduation with a BS in Banking & Finance from USC in 1966, he began a 45 year career in banking, starting with South Carolina National in Columbia. As he began his career he continued his education by attending both the South Carolina Banker’s School and later The Graduate School of Banking at Louisiana State University.

His banking career started in Columbia and then included stops in Sumter, Anderson, Florence and eventually ending in Myrtle Beach. He began his career with SCN but also worked with the National Bank of South Carolina (Synovus) and ended with First Palmetto Bank.

During his career he was member of several different organizations, including Rotary Club in the various cities where he worked, served as the Chairman & President of the United Way of Florence, and is a Leadership Grand Strand Alumnus.

Those who were blessed to know Tumpie knew him to be a warm and kind man with a sense of humor and desire to enjoy life. He enjoyed activities like hunting and fishing and later in life relished teaching those activities to his grandson, but anyone who knew him was aware (sometime painfully) of his love of golf as he could be seen practicing his swing anytime he stood still for more than a minute.

Tumpie is survived by his wife and love of his life Joy Bull, his two children Nichole Bull Britton (Patrick Britton) and Tumpie Bannister Bull III, better known as Chip, and his two grandchildren Blake (Patrick & Nichi) and Lakyn (Chip). His only sibling and older brother Witte Bull predeceased him, but also surviving are Witte’s wife Bonnie and their children Witte Jr., Marion & Frances as well as first cousin Margaret Worsham and special family member Judy Vann, mother of his favorite (and only) son-in-law. Additionally, Tumpie leaves behind a large circle of golfing buddies. Tumpie’s parents Tumpie Sr. and Edna both predeceased him.

Both Tumpie and Joy loved the dogs and cats they cared for over the years, starting with their first ‘child’ Gus, a St. Bernard, to his surviving French Bulldogs Delta & Boudreau.

There will be a visitation Tuesday, December 30th from 4-6pm at McMillan-Small Funeral Home located at 910 67th Ave. North, Myrtle Beach, SC (www.msfh.net). His remains will be interred at a later date at the Columbarium at First Presbyterian Church at 3810 Robert M Grissom Parkway, Myrtle Beach (The Columbarium at FPC - Myrtle Beach First Presbyterian Church).

When asked why his remains were not being kept at their home, his wife Joy was heard to say “Well, we couldn’t find an urn that matched the décor, so he had to go somewhere else.”

When asked, Tumpie was never shy to offer his opinion, thoughts, or a story. While he had plenty of stories, some of his favorite were about his Canada hunting trips with the other men in the family (Joy & Nichi’s eyes roll so hard about another Canada story that you can probably hear it) and one of his favorite sayings when his family asked for something was “Is it a want, or is it a need?” He was also very fond of the poem Footprints In The Sand.

A special thanks to the staff at Agape Hospice for their help in his final days.

Condolences can be expressed via at www.msfh.net.  In lieu of flowers, any donations in his name would be appreciated, but his choices would be St. Jude Children’s Hospital (Impact the lives of St. Jude kids - St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital), Kind Keeper Animal Rescue (Home | kindkeeper) and The Humane Society of North Myrtle Beach (The Humane Society of North Myrtle Beach – A warm heart for a loving home!

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