Mary Jane Bohlen

1944 - 2025

Mary Jane Bohlen

January 31, 1944 - December 8, 2025

Mary Jane (Condon) Bohlen, a retired teacher and accomplished artist, passed away on Monday, December 8, 2025, with her family by her side. She was the beloved wife of Robert M. Bohlen, to whom she shared 54 years of marriage. Born in Santa Barbara, CA, she was the oldest of eight children born to the late Thomas P. and Jeannette (Brunick) Condon.

Raised in Brookline, MA, one might say she discovered her love for art on the playground, where a summer arts-and-crafts teacher visited weekly to work with the children. In the 1960s, she became a medical photographer at Beth Israel Hospital, one of only two women in that field in the US. She eventually left to start a family and moved to Virginia in 1979. There, she found her greatest joy: teaching both adults and children. Mary Jane spent 30 years as an art instructor at Montfort Academy in Fredericksburg, followed by Holy Cross Academy, Saint Patrick School, and Virginia Commonwealth University. She led classes in her studio at LibertyTown Arts Workshop, and at her shops, Needle Artisans in Virginia and the Lilac Tree in Massachusetts. In 1990, at age 46, while still teaching, she returned to school to earn her bachelor's degree from what is now Mary Washington University and later completed her master's degree at Virginia Commonwealth University.

Mary Jane received countless awards and recognition for her work in teaching, art, and photography. She was awarded a Fulbright Memorial Teacher Fund scholarship to study in Japan, received a Silk Road Smithsonian Folklife Festival Fellowship, a George Washington Federation Foundation Fellowship, and was twice honored as Northern Virginia's outstanding elementary art teacher. In 2008, Mary Jane and her husband retired to Rhode Island. She became involved with the Gloria Gemma Breast Cancer Resource Foundation and self-published a book titled "Bosom Buddies," which features photographs and essays that celebrate the inner and outer beauty of breast cancer survivors.

She was fiercely independent, a woman of deep faith who prayed the Rosary daily and was a devoted Boston Red Sox fan. Mary Jane will be deeply missed by everyone who had the privilege of knowing and loving her.

She was the devoted mother of, Madeleine 'Nie' Bohlen (husband, Reggie Tucker), Robert 'Bobby' Bohlen (wife, Jacque), and Thomas 'Patrick' Bohlen (wife, Lynn Hana); the cherished 'Nana' of Sam, Connor, and Gigi. She was the sister of Judy Condon, Jeanette Connell (husband, Edward), Eileen Alexander, Michael Condon (wife, Roberta), Janice Kennedy (husband, Jerome), and the late Thomas Condon and Patrick Condon.

Relatives and friends are invited to a Mass of Christian Burial Monday, December 15, 2025, at 11 a.m. in The Chapel of St. Therese of Lisieux, 1500 Main St., West Warwick, RI 02893. Calling hours will be at the Thomas & Walter Quinn Funeral Home on Sunday, December 14, 2025, from 2 to 5:00 p.m. In lieu of flowers, donations in Mary Jane's name may be made to the Gloria Gemma Breast Cancer Resource Foundation, 11A Blackstone Valley Place, Lincoln, RI 02865, or online at gloriagemma.org. The family requests that attendees join in wearing bright, colorful clothing to celebrate her life.

"Each day brings a fresh beginning, a new discovery, a stimulating creation! I strive to live each day to its fullest, as today is the first day of the rest of my life." -Mary Jane Condon Bohlen

Condolences can be made at:

www.TheQuinnFuneralHome.com

Thomas & Walter Quinn Funeral Home 2435 Warwick Ave., Warwick, RI 02889