Hope Mary Bennett McNulty Burstad of Paris, Texas, and formerly of California, passed on to the Lord on February 27, 2025, in Paris, Texas. Hope and her twin brother, Richard Bennett, were born in August 1930, in Guttenberg, New Jersey, the daughter of Raymond J. Bennett and Dorothy Zolezzi Stanton Bennett.
At age 11, her family moved to Glendale, California, and arrived just one month before the attack on Pearl Harbor in 1941. She was a graduate of Los Angeles High School and attended Los Angeles State College. Later, she entered the Dominican Convent in San Raphael, but shortly afterwards, realized that the religious life was not her calling. At the age of 19, she met her great love and married James Melancon McNulty. They had five children: Dennise, James, John, Stephan, and Kathleen. That marriage was dissolved after 19 years, and in 1972, she married Marshall Burstad who in 2002 preceded her in death.
She was devoted to her church, and she was devoted to her family. She especially enjoyed welcoming and entertaining family and friends for all occasions in the family home in San Jose. While raising her children she became active as a volunteer and spend many hours in Pediatrics comforting children at O’Conner Hospital. Because of this experience, and with the encouragement and example of a doctor who had written a booklet for children, Hope wrote a similar booklet for young children to help prepare them for a possible hospital stay and along with the cooperation of local schools arranged for classes of young children to tour parts of the hospital.
After her youngest child started school, Hope started what would eventually become an adventurous 30-year career with the Federal Government. Her first position was a clerk with the Blind Rehabilitation Center at the Veterans Hospital in Palo Alto. From there she went with the Department of Navy at the Naval Air Station, Moffett Field, and next to the Naval Air Rework Facility in Alameda.
She became a Personnel Management Specialist and was soon accepted for promotion to an overseas assignment with the Department of the Army in Wiesvaden, Germany. Hope considered that assignment a once in a lifetime opportunity to live and travel in foreign countries. During the next six years she lived her dreams and lived in Weisvaden and Stuttgart, Germany. During those years she developed a lasting love for traveling and a deep appreciation of foreign countries and customs. Her travels took her to Russia, the Scandinavian Countries, the British Isles, Holland, France, Spain, Morocco, Italy, Czechoslovakia, and Japan. When her grandchildren started to be born, she requested a return home to California to be closer to her growing family. She was offered and accepted a position with the Department of Navy, Military Sealift Command in Oakland, California and served as a representative for the agency before a third part review, ie, EEO Commission, The Merit System Protection Board in San Francisco, and Union arbitrations. Hope’s last assignment was in Virginia Beach, Virginia, as a Labor Relations Specialist. To oust her thirty year career with the Federal Government, she received numerous awards for outstanding performance and service. Shortly before her 70th birthday she retired and returned to California to be with her loving family, who by then included ten wonderful grandchildren.
In 2005, Hope moved to Paris, Texas, where she felt very much at home. She loved the friendly, kind, warm hearted people she met throughout her neighborhood, community and church.
For many years, she enjoyed being a volunteer for several organizations including the hospice programs, which enabled her to bring cheer and companionship to those she visited. In addition, she felt honored to serve as one of the Readers at Sunday Mass in Our Lady of Victory Catholic Church, and to help at the St. Vincent de Paul’s food bank. She found joy as a volunteer reading to the children in second grade at Akin Elementary School, and later, helping children in the first grade who were having difficulty with reading.
Without doubt, the two greatest loves in her life were her Catholic faith and her family. She was preceded in death by her husband and father of her children, James M. McNulty, Marshall Burstad; her parents; four brothers; one sister; numerous aunts, uncles and cousins.
Family survivors include her daughters, Denise Carter, Kathleen Garber and husband Timothy; her three sons, James H. McNulty and wife Anna, John R. McNulty and wife Melody, Stephan M. McNulty and wife Kim; 10 beloved grandchildren and their spouses; 13 great-grandchildren; and many beloved nieces and nephews.
Mom loved her life in Paris, Texas. She had many spiritual family members and friends at church. A special thank you to Toni Moore, her caregiver, and to the wonderful staff of Chambers Hospice for their care and concern.
A Mass of Christian Burial has been set for Tuesday, March 4, 2025 at 2:00 PM at Our Lady of Victory Catholic Church with Father Gavin Vaverek as Celebrant.
Online condolences may be sent to the Burstad family by visiting www.fry-gibbs.com
