Obituary of Thomas Joseph McNulty

Thomas Joseph McNulty was born on November 27, 1937, and was immediately nick-named Sunny because of his happy disposition. As a child, Bay Shore beach was his playground, and there, when he was 9 years old, he met the love of his life, Carolyn Irene Lawson. He did, however, wait until she was 18 to elope with her. Soon the children came along with a vengeance, and they raised many foster children, one of whom decided to stay forever: Judy Kincade (Steve), Cathy, Tom, Evelyn, Mary Lue (Merzie) Berriault (Kevin), Dianne Daigle (Gary), Mike (Melissa). Those children produced children of their own. Sunny is survived by 15 grandchildren and 13 great grandchildren. A life-changing accident at 16 didn't stop Sunny from accomplishing anything he set his mind to --- except skating. He swam, skied, and even drove a standard – sometimes not so relaxing for his passengers. Not having enough of the children in his own home, as a young man, Sunny became passionately involved in the Boy Scout movement. He combined his love of scouting with the second love of his life, the family camp at Loch Lomond. Hundreds of West Side boys got to be Robin Hood for a week in the summer at Sunny’s beloved camp. To his credit, he led 7 of these young men to become Queen Scouts – quite an accomplishment. Later in his life, Sunny joined his wife Carolyn as co-founder of Romero House; she was the cook, and he was the bottle washer. He was captain of the Sunday crew for years and years, and then, once he retired, he drove Stan crazy volunteering on the van. Sunny was a true West Side Catholic boy. He was a member of the Assumption parish his whole life from altar boy, to Eucharistic Minister with an invitation to serve the Pope, to RCIA, to K of C, to the parish council. The Sisters of Charity, though, begged him not to join the parish choir. At the end of the day, family was always most important to Sunny. He was Dad, Grampy, Old Grampy, and, of course, Uncle Sunny. (Soooo many cups of tea!). When he was with his family, he was always his happiest. Sunny died on May 11, 2016, at home surrounded by his wife, children, grandchildren, his sister Bernice, and his brother-in-law Wayne – surrounded by love. Resting at Brenan’s Funeral Home, 111 Paradise Row, Saint John (634-7424) where visitation will be held on Saturday, May 14 and Sunday May 15 from 2-4 and 6-8. A Mass of Christian Burial will be held from Our Lady of the Assumption Church, 360 Dufferin Row, at 12 PM on Monday, May 16 with interment to follow at Holy Cross Cemetery. For those who wish, remembrances may be made to the Romero House or Divine Mercy Catholic School.