Obituary of Muriel C. Carty
Calista, as she was called by her family and many friends, was born Muriel Calista Bolden in Blenheim, Virginia on January 12, 1930. She was the oldest of three children born to John Danfourth Bolden and Muriel Calista Jones Bolden. She was raised by her parents in Esmont, Virginia where she attended grade school. In 1949, she moved to Brooklyn, New York to live with her aunt and uncle, Alta (her father’s sister) and Warner Julian Jones and their two daughters, Florence and Miriam. She completed her education there and earned a Bachelor of Science Degree in Home Economics at Brooklyn College.
On June 11, 1959, she and Joseph C. Carty were joined in Marriage. They lived in Newark, New Jersey for almost six years. In 1962, their son, Brian, was born and Calista paused her career as an elementary school teacher to be a stay-at-home mom. In 1964, they contracted the construction of a house in South Plainfield, New Jersey. The family moved into their new home in early 1965.
During the summers, the family vacationed mostly by car in locations ranging from Quebec, Canada to the Florida Keys. After their son started to attend school, she returned to work, initially as a substitute librarian and ultimately assisting in teaching children with learning disabilities. She retired from the South Plainfield Public School System in 1995.
As the granddaughter of a Baptist pastor, she was an active member of the local church wherever she lived, beginning at New Green Mountain Baptist Church in Esmont as a youth. She then attended both Bethany Baptist Church in Brooklyn and Bethany Baptist Church in Newark. In the late 1960’s, she joined First-Park Baptist Church in Plainfield, New Jersey rising to the position of Church Mother in May 2012, shortly before her health began to decline. Her spiritual journey included participation in choirs, youth groups, women’s groups, Mobile Meals (Meals on Wheels,) Sunday School teaching and Vacation Bible School.
Calista’s volunteerism was not limited to church activities. She became involved with the Plainfield YWCA while her son was a preschool student there. She coordinated two local “It’s a Small World” musical programs in the late 60’s/early 70’s. She served as homeroom mother and school library volunteer prior to her employment in the South Plainfield School System.
In 2012, Calista suffered a stroke, followed later by deteriorating health that eventually prevented her from continuing to live at home. Several years later, her husband’s failing eyesight forced him to stop driving. Nevertheless, he walked to visit her every day that the weather permitted until the Coronavirus Pandemic in 2020 restricted in-person visitation for more than 2 ½ years at the facility where she resided.
Sixty-five years of marriage ended with Calista’s passing on August 14, 2024 after a long battle with dementia and other complications.
She was preceded in death by her parents and her brother, John R. Bolden. Calista leaves to mourn her husband Joseph C. Carty of South Plainfield, New Jersey, their son of whom she and her husband were always proud, Brian C. Carty, M.D. of Kingstowne, Virginia, her sister Lorraine B. Paige of Esmont, Virginia, two sisters-in-law; Alver T. Bolden of Esmont, Virginia and Constance M. Goldbeck of Bronx, NY, two very close cousins, Florence King of Bedminster, New Jersey and Miriam Hassell of Orange, New Jersey as well as many nieces, nephews, grand nieces and nephews, great-grand nieces and nephews, cousins and friends, too numerous to name.
There was/is a special place in both her and her husband’s heart for Lauren Hassell, their goddaughter, who has always been extremely thoughtful, attentive, and kind to both of them, especially during Calista’s later years.
On Saturday, August 24, 2024, family and friends may gather to First-Park Baptist Church, 315 W. 7th Street, Plainfield, NJ 07060 for visitation beginning at 9:00am followed by funeral services at 10:00am. Calista will be buried at Hillside Cemetery in Scotch Plains following the services at her church. To livestream the services, please click on Muriel's Lifestream of Services