Tena (DeVelis) BUSSOLARI, 92, of Somerville, devoted mother of four, passed peacefully from a memorable life to a loving memory at home in the care of her family on July 8, 2015 after a period of declining health. Born in Somerville, MA in 1923, daughter of the late Cosmo and Francesca DeVelis. Tena was the youngest of seven children raised in an Italian American home as a first generation American with values shaped by the Great Depression and World War II. Her father died when she was a teenager. She provided for and cared for her mother until her death in 1966.
Tena took business classes and gained employment in the office of John Morrell & Co where she met her husband Quinto with whom she shared 68 years of marriage and raised their four children in a home with love, respect, togetherness, food and fun. As boyfriends and girlfriends, later husbands and wives, joined the family, Tena welcomed and cared for them as her own adding another chair for Sunday dinners and holiday parties. She returned to the workforce when her youngest child was in school, retiring from the City of Somerville, School Department.
She was blessed with 30 years of retirement marked by travel and family milestones but she was happiest in her own home where she lived for 55 years. She will be remembered for her selfless devotion to family, strength of character, quiet wit and love of life.
In addition to her husband, Quinto, she leaves her children, Norma Mahoney and her husband Edward of Medford, James and his wife, Paula of Somerville, Michael and his wife, Lisa of Medfield, and Joanne Thomann and her husband, Bruce of Saugus and her grandchildren, Mark and Michael Mahoney, Lindsay and Tyler Thomann, and Katie Clements and Matthew Jergens and seven great grandchildren.
Funeral from the Dello Russo Funeral Home, 306 Main St., Medford on Tuesday, July 14, at 9 AM followed by a funeral mass celebrated in St. Clement Church, 71 Warner St., Medford, at 10 AM. Relatives and friends are respectfully invited to attend. Visiting hours Monday, July 13, from 4 through 8 PM. Services will conclude with burial at Oak Grove Cemetery, Medford.
Instead of flowers, the family requests donations in Tena’s memory be made to Somerville-Cambridge Elder Services, 61 Medford Street, Somerville, MA 02143 whose advice and support helped Tena remain at home.