- Ardythe Bullard is the late NFL athlete Gale Sayers’ widow.
- Gale Sayers’s Relationship with Ardythe Bullard
- They established an adoption agency
- Her husband was afflicted with dementia
Ardythe Bullard (full name, Ardythe Elaine Bullard) is the late NFL athlete Gale Sayers’ widow. Ardythe’s spouse is regarded as one of the finest players in NFL history.
He spent seven seasons as a running back with the Chicago Bears.
Sayers used his charisma and substantial net wealth both during and after his playing career to improving the lives of others, supporting a variety of sports initiatives and community services.
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Gale Sayers’s Relationship with Ardythe Bullard
On December 1, 1973, Ardythe Bullard married Gale.
Sayers was 30 years old at the time. They were both previously married.
Ardythe had recently joined the North Omaha YMCA board, which included Gale’s brother, Roger Sayers, in the 1960s.
Her father used to work at the packinghouses in South Omaha, which is also her hometown.
Ardie and Roger became friends, and Bullard even assisted in the care of Roger’s mother before her death.
Elaine, ironically, had known nearly every member of the Sayers family.
Gale, the famous family member, was the only one she didn’t know about.
She soon met Gale at the Fair Deal, North Omaha’s favorite cafe.
They relocated to Kansas after their wedding.
Gale was hired by the University of Kansas sports department.
They did, however, travel home on occasion to see relatives, particularly during Native Omaha Days, a communal reunion held in North O every other summer.
Gale and Elaine moved to Wakarusa, Indiana, after he retired.
Gale founded a successful technology company and semiretired in 2012.
Then he went to Las Vegas for a few months a year to work autograph conventions – he enjoyed penning his name.
Gale and Ardythe Sayers purchased a home in rural Wakarusa in 1987.
The residence was owned by the couple until Gale’s death in 2020.
Ardythe most likely still owns the land.
Children of Ardythe Bullard
While Gale Lynne, Timothy, Scott, Gaylon, Guy, and Gary are all considered Gale Sayers’ children, it’s unclear which of them he had with Ardythe.
According to some, the first three stem from the athlete’s marriage to Linda, while the subsequent three are from his connection with Bullard.
In addition, others allege that Ardie and her husband adopted Guy.
Gale and his first wife, Linda, had adopted Scott.
Ardythe is the mother of four children, however, it’s uncertain whether Gale is the father of all of them.
Despite this, Ardythe and Sayers have 12 grandkids and seven great-grandchildren.
Her stepfather In the case of the school fire, the defendant pled guilty.
In October 1989, Timothy Sayers was 17 years old when he pleaded guilty to criminal damage to property for lighting a fire at Kenwood Academy.
Associate Judge Dennis Dernbach sentenced him to two years of probation and ordered him to receive psychiatric counseling during that time.
Prosecutors stated Sayers had no prior offenses and Kenwood officials refused to press charges.
Timothy was burnt when he attempted to set fire to a combustible liquid on the floor of a chemistry laboratory and on the school’s stairs at 5015 S. Blackstone Ave.
Ardythe’s Husband Sayers had previously been married to Linda McNeil before marrying Elaine.
They married when Sayers was a freshman in college in 1962 and divorced in June 1973.
The couple had a daughter, Gale Lynne, and two sons, Timothy and Scott.
Timothy, Gale and Linda’s first child, had been adopted.
They established an adoption agency.
Ardythe and Sayers funded various groups after relocating to Indiana, including the Cradle.
The Ardythe and Gale Sayers Center for African American Adoption were founded in 1999 by a Chicago-area adoption agency.
The Ardythe and Gale Sayers Center for African American Adoption were founded by The Cradle with an emphasis on adoptive parent recruiting in the African American community.
The Sayers Center is part of The Cradle’s domestic adoption program and is named after Sayers and his wife, Ardythe.
It is one of the few initiatives in the country that explicitly promotes adoption awareness within the African American community.
Furthermore, the Center offers cultural awareness and connection to transracial families who have adopted African American and Biracial children, as well as transracial families who have adopted Black children worldwide.
The Sayers Center Program’s goal is to educate the African American community about the adoption process while also providing continuous support and chances for relationships to all families who have adopted African American and Biracial children.
A Brief History of Ardythe Bullard’s Husband
Gale Eugene Sayers, Bullard’s late husband, was born on May 30, 1943 in Wichita.
His father worked as a mechanic and car polisher, while his mother was a housewife.
Gale’s family relocated to Omaha when he was 8 or 9 years old, providing him the opportunity to play in an organized football league for the first time.
Sayers was a two-time University of Kansas all-American.
He was picked by the Bears in late 1964.
Ardythe’s husband went on to set rookie records, gaining 2,272 all-purpose yards as a runner, receiver, and kick returner while scoring 22 touchdowns.
Six came against the San Francisco 49ers on a muddy field, tying a single-game record that still stands.
Furthermore, only Ernie Nevers (1929) and Dub Jones (1951) had ever scored six touchdowns in an NFL game.
Sayers had an 80-yard screen pass, four touchdowns on the ground, then returned a punt 85 yards in the rain for his sixth.
Furthermore, Mr. Sayers was a first-team all-pro in each of his first five seasons, led the NFL in rushing in 1966 and 1969, and was inducted into the Hall of Fame at the age of 34 in 1977.
Following that, knee issues forced him to retire. He’d been in the NFL for seven years.
Sayers returned to the University of Kansas as an assistant athletic director and student after leaving the NFL.
In 1975, he received his bachelor’s degree in physical education, and in 1977, he received his master’s degree in educational management.
Sayers died on September 23, 2020, at the age of 77, after a long battle with dementia.
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Her husband was afflicted with dementia.
Ardythe disclosed Sayers had dementia in March 2017, which she attributed in part to his football career.
Around 2013, she began to notice Sayers’ symptoms.
Her husband went to the Mayo Clinic for a physical every year.
By 2013, Ardythe was concerned that something was seriously wrong.
According to Ms. Sayers, folks used to see him and wonder what was wrong with him.
Her husband was not easily swayed, especially by outsiders.
However, Sayers finally required the services of a nurse 24 hours a day, seven days a week.
He collapsed before she could reach him at one point, leaving a laceration on his head.
