Julie Hulbert

Julie G. Hulbert, 62, died on Nov. 8, 2024, at Monument Health with her family at her bedside after a brief acute illness.  

On Sept. 23, 1962, though not a boy as hoped, the special request for a blue-eyed blonde girl was given to Martin and Eva June (Amos) Tucker and her three brunette sisters in Wichita, Kansas.

Julie graduated from Mankato High School in Mankato, Kansas in 1980.  She married Max Hulbert on June 27, 1981. To this union, Melissa and Bradley Wasborn. They divorced in 2015. She moved to Rapid City, South Dakota, where she resided until she died.  

While in Mankato, Julie was a successful entrepreneur. She operated a daycare which is remembered by many of her former clients. After the daycare closed, Julie established a lawn service business which served both businesses and local customers. Customers liked Julie's personal attention and detail to their lawn needs.  Julie was also available for any additional services her customers needed. No matter what, her customers were her top focus and concern which was highly respected in the community.  

After moving to Rapid City, Julie continued to focus on her learned customer skills through employment at several customer service businesses. She enjoyed meeting new customers and embracing the unexpected  situations.  

Family Christmas was Julie's highlight of the year and especially after moving to Rapid City. Julie always made sure the special memories were captured through her videos and pictures. She was known to repay gifts in her own mischievous ways such as giving individually wrapped bullets in return for receiving individually wrapped lottery tickets. While making sure the fun was had by all, Julie's primary focus was on seeing her children and giving them the special things she selected for them. One cannot describe the anticipation Julie had for this annual family event. It also provided her with a special time to connect with her granddaughter, Makenna.  Makenna held a special place in her heart and Julie would be quick to share anything Makenna related to family and social media.

This obituary would be remiss without talking about her special animal family - Buddy and Peaches.  Buddy was her adorable protective ankle biting dog to those of us he did not like for whatever the reason.  Aside from her children – Buddy was her devoted fur person.  Buddy provided that constant companionship to her because of the distance of her children.  She would do anything for Buddy including an automatic dog door to a fenced area.  Peaches, the cockatiel, arrived after Fred, the parrot, died. She taught Peaches to talk and whistle.  Peaches would also sit on her shoulder when she was up and about. Julie had a very special knack with animals.  

Julie will be remembered for her intense deep love of family-especially her children, granddaughter and mother; her special ability to capture family memories through videos and photos; her smile and laugh when talking about her casino adventures and last but not least her love of Buddy and Peaches.  

Julie is survived by her daughter, Melissa (Tanner) Imler, Hutchinson, Kansas; son, Bradley (Jillian) Hulbert, Mankato; mother, Eva June Tucker and sister, Stephanie (JR) Leuthold, both of Black Hawk, South Dakota; granddaughter, Makenna Imler; and niece and nephew, Jim Leuthold and Cassandra Leuthold.

Julie was preceded in death by her father, Martin Tucker in June 2011; sisters, Angelia Tucker in January 2024 and Marcella Tucker in September 2024.

A graveside service will be held at Mount Hope Cemetery in Mankato, at 3 p.m. on Friday, Dec. 6, 2024, with Samantha Stensaas serving as celebrant. For online condolences please visit http://www.melbymortuary.com