Mary Rose Joann Bolton

Mary Rose Joann Bolton’s Autobiography

I was born during the depression years on June 18, 1932. My parents, Clifford Emerson Hardwick and Mary Agnes Beauchamp, had only been married several months when she became pregnant with me. Mom became quite ill with a kidney infection that put her into the hospital. She was put on bedrest for several months. The doctors were dubious about her being able to carry me to full term. Aunt Sr. Louis Mary LeDoux S.S.N.D. brought a 1st Class Relic of Mother Mary Rose Durocher, founder of the Holy Names Order to Mom. Mary Agnes promised Mother Mary Rose to call me Mary Rose if a girl. Em, my father, wanted me to be called Joann.

On Saturday July 2, 1932, my great-aunt Agnes Stopper took me by taxi to St. Mary's Cathedral where I was baptized, Mary Rose Joann Hardwick. Agnes stood in proxy for my Godparents Laura Beauchamp (my Mom’s sister) and Albert F. Beachamp (my grandfather). Mary Jo became my name or as my Dad called me "Queenie."

My early life was spent in Hood River, Oregon where my father was a practicing physician. During my childhood I had several severe illnesses: at 15 months was operated on for an infected mastoid. My appendix was removed at age nine. All of this happened before antibiotics and death from infection was common. Apparently, God had other plans for me.

In the fall of 1940, when in the 3rd grade, at age 8, I went to St. Mary's Academy Boarding school in The Dalles, Oregon. This lasted only one year. I was too home sick.

My cello lessons began in the 5th grade and continued until graduating from college in 1954. In 1944-45 I went again to boarding school at St. Mary's, riding the Bus home every Friday night to Hood River, either standing with my cello or sitting. This was “the war years” and buses were very crowded, and at other times I took the train.

After graduating from the eighth grade at St. Mary's Academy, our family moved to Philadelphia in the spring of 1946 where my father took a year of graduate study at Temple University. I attended Little Flower High School where I took cello lessons with Joseph Vetere. Returning to Portland in 1947, 1 went to St. Mary's Academy graduating on June 4, 1950 at the Civic Auditorium with all 4 Catholic High Schools. I ended up processing out next to Bill Bolton, who I had been dating, I remember thinking he would make a good Priest. A voice within me said: "You are for the next generation."

From 5th grade until in my twenties, I played the cello in several music groups including the Portland Junior Symphony and the Portland Chamber Orchestra. I studied with Gabor Rejto at the Music Academy of the West in Santa Barbara in the summer of 1952. I enjoyed playing in the groups there but didn’t like playing solos.

I attended Marylhurst College from 1950-1953. I graduated with a B.A. in applied music, cum laude, from Lewis and Clark College in Portland, Oregon on June 6, 1954. After graduation, I attended Business College for several months so I could have more skills and employment opportunities.

On September 2, 1954, while attending the movie “Gone With The Wind,” Bill Bolton slipped a diamond ring on my finger. My sister, Kay, was sitting on my other side. Wow! We had been going together for several years.

We were married on June 11, 1955, at St. Thomas More Catholic Church in Portland, Oregon. Wilbur “Bill” Bolton was an Ensign in the Navy and needed to report for duty in San Diego on July 1, 1955. I put my musical ambitions away and followed Bill to his various posts while in the navy. In the summer of 1957 Bill finished his service. We settled in Portland, where our five children were born.

In 1967 we bought a house in Los Alamitos, California. Bill was employed as an Actuary at Transamerica Insurance Company in Los Angeles. My volunteering at St. Hedwig included the St. Mary’s Guild, the Firework’s Stand, working with the Adult Education Program, and helping with Perpetual Adoration for over 30 years. I also helped monitor lunch and recess at lunch time during the 13 years our children attended St. Hedwig’s grade school.

In 1979 we became involved in the Charismatic Renewal. We went with them to the Holy Land in October of 1979. In 1981 I went with a Charismatic Healing Team twice, in April we went to Israel and Egypt. In December went to Nigeria and Egypt. The experiences were so profound that I wrote two manuscripts about what happened to me, as well as to the others, who made these journeys of faith. The presence of God was incredible.

I went to work during the 1970’s selling Avon in Rossmoor. This helped with the tuition of our daughter, Mary Agnes, when she went to Cal Tech in Pasadena.

In 1980 I became interested in our family’s genealogy. The research took me to locations in Oregon, Montreal and England resulting in several historical manuscripts about the Bolton, Hardwick, Beauchamp, and LeDoux families. I had to research church records, cemetery records, family bibles, public records, old newspapers and onsite microfiche records. Online sources later became available in the late 1990’s, which helped quite a bit. Regarding our family’s history, I also wrote a book of memories of our daughter, Margaret Rose, who died of a brain tumor in June 2011.

In the fall of 1982, we began taking courses at the Diocese of Orange Catechetical Institute training to be adult catechists. We both felt it would be a good idea to update ourselves from our pre-Vatican II Catholic education.

From 1982 I spent six years as a Catholic Chaplain at Long Beach Memorial Hospital and Los Alamitos Hospital taking Holy Communion to the sick and dying. Afterward, I wrote two articles on my experiences in hospital ministry that were published.

In 1983 St. Hedwig began a program of RENEW. With the help of a programmer in the parish in 1984, we developed a program to computerize the assignment of small groups and Leaders. All the paper work for the small groups was done by me. I worked past midnight on my computer some weeks.

The Salesians of Don Bosco, the religious order our son, Bill, belonged to, enlisted me to send out all the invitations and purchase 3 sheet cakes for our son, Wilbur Francis ordination to the Priesthood at St. Irenaeus in Cypress on May 31, 1987. Thus the Word spoken in 1950 came to pass.

Bill and I were among the founders of Precious Life Shelter in Los Alamitos. Beginning in 1989, I worked four years doing computer work, in our home, for the shelter when it was first started. This included the newsletters, the yearly campaign for raising funds and writing a how-to manual for the shelter.

From 1984 until 1994 I took care of my daughter Laura's four children until they were ready for daycare as well as working on my computer in between.

In the summer of 1993 when my mother took ill, I, along with my sister Kay and several care givers took turns taking care of her until she died on January 31, 1994.

In the spring of 1993 Bill took me to England and Scotland to explore our English roots. In 1997 we went on a pilgrimage to Spain and France with Journey's of Faith and then in 1999 to Italy stopping in Rome where we received a blessing from Pope John Paul II.

On June 11, 2005 we celebrated our 50th Wedding Anniversary with all of Bill's and my family.

In October 22, 2005 I was given the Distinguished Alumni Award for “Outstanding Service to Society” at Marylhurst University in Portland, Oregon.

The years between 2005 and 2016 were spent enjoying the grandchildren and each other.

In 2016 Bill became ill with cancer that was treated with Chemotherapy. Then we found that he had cancer in his stomach. He lived exactly two years after the surgery to take care of me.

Bill and I were married 62½ years before cancer caused the death of the "love of my life" on March 9, 2018.

Our married life was spent in much prayer, in daily Mass when possible, and depending upon the LORD to take care of our lives. In looking back, HE DID!

Postscript from Mary’s oldest son, Fr. Bill

Between 2005 and 2015 as a part of their enjoying each other, mom and dad went on a number of tours with Bob and Penny Lord of EWTN. The focus of these group tours were Eucharistic Miracles and Marian Apparitions. They loved the Eucharist and our Blessed Mother.

On the genealogy side of things mom and dad made several trips to Oregon and Quebec which included visits to churches and cemeteries. Mom worked on improving her French language skills as most of the baptismal, wedding and legal records from Quebec were written in French.

After dad’s death in 2018, she continued working on our genealogy: clarifying, questioning and sometimes correcting public databases which seemed to have input errors, misspellings, and dates regarding our family’s ancestors. She also connected with other members of our family from the Bolton, Hardwick, Beauchamp, and LeDoux branches sharing pictures and stories.

Every day since April of 2020 (Covid) mom began her day on Zoom watching mass from St. Jerome Church where I am pastor. When I shared family stories at mass she’d sometimes call me when her recollection of events differed from mine or just to laugh with me. As I know that she had done with dad since at least 1957, I know she prayed the Rosary for her family each day. I and St. Jerome Parishioners got Monday. Mary and her Parker family were Tuesday. Laura and her Speed family were Wednesday. Robert and his wife, Mimi, were Thursday. Margaret, Donald and her Lum family were Friday. Saturday was for the extended family she felt needed prayers. On Sundays she prayed for the church and the world.

In June of 2023 I went with my mom to Portland for my dad’s sister’s funeral, Aunt Helen. I think this was my mom’s last extended vacation. I was blessed to be with her. In addition to visiting my dad’s family, mom wanted me to go with her to various cemeteries in the Portland area. We went looking for my ancestors and she loved to share their stories. My mom spoke of people who lived in the 1620’s and onward as though she had known them.

Mom had learned where they lived, how they lived, who they had married, significant things they had done, how they died and where their bodies had been placed to rest. She and my dad visited those places. My mom shared their stories as best she could. She wanted them to be remembered as they had prepared the way for me and my siblings.

After cleaning up the tombstone, we would pray for them. We also asked them to intercede and pray for us.

Over the years mom wrote down what she had discovered. She made books with photographs for each of her children. She wanted us to know. She wanted them not to be forgotten. She wanted us to have a conscious connection with them.

Her heath took a serious turn for the worse on my birthday, April 15, 2026. I came over and helped her with her laundry. The next day she was hospitalized. During the rough days that followed, she was anointed and received communion often. She offered up her sufferings asking God to have all of her family to remain close to Jesus.

I know mom was ready. She has been wanting to be with dad again. On Friday, July 24, the same day as her father’s passing, her prayer was answered. At 1:26pm my niece Angel and her husband, Timmy, reported “She opened up her eyes wide and smiled. She looked happy. Then she was gone.”

I know she was grateful for phone calls that she received from family members and friends. We are grateful to neighbors and friends who have helped her over the years. I know she looked forward to receiving the Eucharist each Sunday morning from the homebound ministry at St. Hedwig. May God bless you all for your kindness.

May she, and the souls of all the faithful departed rest in peace. Amen.