She was born on January 18, 1961, in Port Arthur, Texas. She has lived in the Port Arthur area all her life. She was blessed with amazing parents, Horace and Lois Bullion. She has two brothers, who still live in that area. All her life her parents were so supportive, loving, and always there for them. She will be forever blessed with them in her life. She prides herself in trying to live her life the way she was so beautifully taught by them.
Growing up she attended Catholic school. In 1979 she graduated from Bishop Byrne High School and was one of the top-ten students and was in the National Honor Society. Even though she was heavily involved in sports, she made sure not to let her academics ever suffer. From a very young age, she was involved in sports, especially softball. During the years, she played on league teams and also traveling teams. Her Dad coached some of the teams and her Mom enjoyed being the team mom. She cannot remember a time that her Dad and Mom were not at one of her games. Every day after she got home from school, the first thing her Dad had her do was practice pitching (fast-pitch) with him. She excelled in it and also was a very good hitter. She made the All-Star team every year and in high school her team won the State Championship. She was selected as the All-State Fast Pitch Pitcher. These are some memories for which she will always cherish.
After high school, she went to Lamar in Port Arthur, Texas and graduated in 1980 with an Associate of Applied Science-Paralegal degree. It was not easy, but she did a two-year degree fast by taking classes in the summers and also day and night classes. But once again, even with the heavy schedule, she did not let her grades suffer. In college, she was also a member of the National Honor Society.
In 1980 she started working for Hugh O’Fiel, Attorney At Law, in Beaumont. She worked for Hugh from 1980 to 1995. Learning in school is one thing, but hands on experience is invaluable. Hugh definitely taught her a lot. In August 1995 she went to work at Packard LaPray for the Senior Partner, Bernard Packard. In 2019, the firm separated and she continued to work for Mr. Packard at Packard & Packard until December 2020, when he retired. Mr. Packard is a very special person of whom she is very thankful to know and to have worked for. She was responsible for the handling of the family, criminal, and probate cases from start to finish, with the primary focus in family law. She loves what she does and had amazing bosses, who became her dear friends.
She married in 1981 and divorced in 2011. From that marriage she had two amazing children, Jason and Lori. Her son, Jason, was born in 1983 and is employed in the medical field. Her daughter, Lori, was born in 1989 and is a Paralegal in Dallas. Lori married Brandon in 2011, and he is an attorney in Fort Worth. They gave her the most special, beautiful blessings, two grandchildren, Emma who was born in 2016 and Levi who was born in 2020. They truly make her heart full. She never had thoughts of remarrying, but she met a wonderful man, James, and they married in July of 2018. They took a cruise to the Panama Canal, it was an amazing adventure. They love to travel, and in 2019 took a family trip to Disney World in Florida.
Her Dad passed away in October of 2016 and that same month she found out that she had breast cancer. It was a very difficult time in her life. She was a “Daddy’s girl” and was so close to him. Having to go through this diagnosis and surgery without him was almost unbearable. Thankfully, she was blessed with amazing support from her mother, children, family, and friends. As a tribute to her, in October 2018, her kids organized their participation in the Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Race for the Cure. It was special doing this with them.
Her Mom passed away in March of 2020. To this day, it does not seem real to her. They definitely had a special mother-daughter bond. She misses her parents every day. In their elder years, they depended on her a lot, so she would not have moved out of the Port Arthur area while they were still living. With her parents having both passed away, she and her husband decided it was time to be closer to their children and grandchildren. So in October 2020 they made the move to Fort Worth and bought a house.
One of life’s greatest blessings to her is to be able to see and spoil her grandbabies. Emma loves to play soccer and to dance. They go to her soccer games every week. She cannot wait to see what interests Levi has and to be able to attend those games or activities. Her husband’s daughter and family are moving to Fort Worth in January 2021, so more family will be even closer to them.
If she had to summarize herself, it would be “extremely family orientated” nothing means more than family to her. She also is an avid animal lover. They have always had a dog in their family, sometimes two. She looks forward to the next stages of their lives there in Fort Worth.