She was born Dolores DeFina in New York on May 27, 1909. During the 1930s she sang in nightclubs under the stage name of Dolores Reade. She met her future husband when he attended a New York show, the Washington Post reports. They married in 1934 and soon performed vaudeville together.
She raised four adopted children as her husband performed in popular movies and entertained American armed forces during wartime tours with the United Service Organization. Hope appeared in many of her husband’s television specials and sometimes accompanied him on his tours for service members.
Hope returned to singing in 1993. She recorded several albums.
Archbishop Gomez said Hope practiced her faith regularly and transformed her home in the Los Angeles neighborhood of Toluca Lake into “a special sacred space.”
He noted that she kept a “beautiful and peaceful” chapel in their home and frequently asked friends to gather for retreat and recollection. She had “a large collection” of books on spiritual topics and encouraged friends to read them.
She was close friends to many priests and religious sisters as well as cardinals, archbishops and bishops.
“Her deep life in Christ was the springboard for her charitable giving to countless ministries, apostolates, and works of mercy across the country and around the world,” Archbishop Gomez said.