Mary Hulburt

Mary Ellen Hulburt, born on December 15, 1957, in Plainwell, Michigan, to Margaret (Helm) and Henry Elferink. Mary passed away peacefully on July 9, 2024, in Fort Worth, Texas. Mary spent her life dedicated to caring for others and spreading her love and warmth to all those around her.

Born and raised in Michigan, until moving to Texas never lived more than 100 miles from where she was born. Attended and graduated from Plainwell public schools. Married Jeffery Ewing on August 20, 1977 and gave birth to her first daughter, Aimee Ewing in June, 1978. Their life was happy until Jeffery suffered a terrible work related injury and lost several fingers on his hand. They were divorced on December 1, 1980. On October 7, 1983 she gave birth to her second daughter, Caryn Crawford. On August 7th, 1986 she married Caryn's father, Robert Crawford III in a courthouse wedding with Aimee and Caryn as their flower girls. They enjoyed car shows and holidays in Florida, but the couple never resided together. They were divorced July 2, 1994. She then married Steven Doubblestein on September 24th, 1994, at their home, beneath a trellis Steve built for the event. They had been friends during her single years. Steve built her a cottage in the woods behind their house, and the family enjoyed playing pool together in the cottage. Their marriage ended in divorce on April 1, 2005. Years later she met Jerry Hulburt online in chat rooms and they married in 2011. In 2019, Mary moved to Texas to live with her daughter, Caryn and her husband Ryan until she passed. Jerry Hulburt passed away prior to her in 2024.

Throughout her life's journey, Mary found joy in her role as a homemaker, a house cleaner, an assistant at an adult care living facility, a housekeeper in hospitality, an home care nurse and as a hostess at Applebee's. She found great joy in taking care of others. She pursued education in Medical Billing and Coding and received her Associated Degree in 2011. She had a commitment to personal growth and excellence in everything she did.

Family was everything to Mary. From being there to support her siblings while they were starting their own families, to helping raise her grandchildren. She took great interest visiting with relatives traveling from Germany. She had a deep seeded need to feel connected to her family. Mary loved doing ancestry and genealogy research, and even discovered pirate relation through her father. She had a deep pride in her children and adored her grandchildren and spent as much time with them as she could.

Known for her creativity and crafting talents, Mary poured her heart into knitting, crochet, painting, and more, with each piece reflecting her love and thoughtfulness. She put these hobbies to good use and loved to make presents for those she cared about.

Her connection to nature brought her solace, whether sitting at the South Haven Lighthouse on Lake Michigan's shores watching the boats and waves come in or enjoying the outdoors under her umbrella in her backyard. One of her favorite past times was visiting the New Orleans Zoo She created a huge garden in Michigan but never quite figured out the Texas soil and how the sun kills everything but the crabgrass.

She was preceded in death by her parents.

Mary's life was defined by her unwavering love for her family and friends. She is survived by her daughters and their husbands, Aimee Warner and James Austin, and Caryn and Ryan Furhman; her grandchildren, Dylan, Kody, Trey, and Rachel, Skylynne and Gabriel; her brothers, Robert, John and Gary Elferink; her sisters, Irene Irwin and Judy Longjohn; numerous nieces and nephews, grand nieces, and grand nephews; along with her closest friends, Bonnie Doubblestein and Penny Dehollander and the multitude of those who knew her and whose life she touched.

Mary's enduring spirit and loving nature will be deeply missed by everyone who had the privilege of knowing her. May she rest in peace, forever cherished in the hearts of those who loved her.

In lieu of flowers consider making a donation to the Tarrant County Humane Society in honor of Mary and her love of animals.