Mary Louise Boldman

Mary DePonte Boldman passed away peacefully on February 20, 2025, in Hendersonville, North Carolina, one month after her 99th Birthday. Mary was a strong Portuguese lady and lived a long life full of adventure. Sadly, she succumbed to complications from diabetes but was able to care for herself until the last month of her celebrated life. She was the last remaining sibling in her family and is survived by her two daughters and two sons; Deborah Thompson, Diane Blakeley, Joseph DePonte and David DePonte. She also leaves behind a large family of 11 grandchildren, 18 great grandchildren and 2 great, great grandchildren all of whom filled her life with joy. She was fondly called Vavo by most all the family which is grandma in Portuguese.
Mary was born and raised on the Portuguese Azores Island of San Miguel in a small traditional community filled with friends and family, some that still live there today. She was married on February 6, 1954 to Manuel Deponte who had emigrated from San Miguel to the United States as a child and ultimately settled in California. There Mary and Manuel raised their children in the town of Playa Del Rey. Mary taught herself English when she arrived but never lost her strong Portuguese accent. She and Manuel loved to garden and cook. They frequently spent hours kneading and baking Portuguese sweet bread Massa for the family, often a dozen loaves at a time. Her daughters recall how she also expertly sewed most all of their dresses when they were small children. She was so creative that the outfits were always "one of a kind". Another interesting aspect of Mary's life is that she never learned how to drive. She tried a couple times but the family found it was too much for all of them and she preferred to be the family's passenger. She did however find a way to consistently work at two jobs and still be there to help raise the family.
After the kids had grown Mary and Manuel moved to northern California. Manuel passed away in 1983. Shortly after Mary moved to Washington State to live with her daughter Diane and son in law Mark where she met Harold Boldman. They courted and married in 1985. After Harold passed away, Mary returned back to live with her daughter Diane in Kirkland, WA. She was in her 80's at that time and still very active. She loved to garden and crochet blankets and clothing for the grandkids. She established friends in the neighborhood and spent the days shopping and going to lunch and sometimes jumping on the local bus to get to downtown.
In 2013, Mary's daughter and son-in-law retired and moved to Florida to be close to their kids. Vavo elected to stay in Washington to be with her other children and grandchildren who lived in the Pacific Northwest. She spent several years living with her son Joseph's family and daughter Deborah's family, often surrounded by her adoring grandchildren. She continued her love of gardening wherever she went. The family would swear she could put anything in the ground, and it would flourish
In 2023, she returned to live with her daughter Diane in Western North Carolina to live out her remaining days. She loved sitting outside and watching the variety of birds, deer, turkeys, and occasional bear, which she one time confused for a large black dog heading into the woods.
Through her life and her hardships, Mary always persevered without complaint and always looked to help where she could. She had traveled back to the Azores Islands a few times to rekindle relationships with her family and relive the many fond memories she had growing up there. Mary's last wishes were to have her final resting place be with Manuel, her beloved husband and father of her children who lays to rest in Newman, CA. Mountain View Cremation & Funeral Care has the honor of serving the family.