Antionette Cosmo Boccardy

Antoinette C. Boccardy, in the morning hours of Friday, January the 8t, passed away at North Florida Regional Hospital in Gainesville, Florida. She was 83 years old. Her beloved husband of 59 years was at her side. She was born on February 19th, 1932 in Athol, Massachusetts, the daughter of the late Vincent James DeSantis and Judita DeSantis. She is survived by her husband, Joseph A. Boccardy, Sr., three sons; Joseph, Vincent, and Michael Boccardy. Her surviving grandchildren are Isabella Marie, Sophia Antionette, August Outlaw, Cecilia, and Teo Boccardy. Other grandchildren include Isabella, Nikolas, and Preston Cutillo. Mothers include Morgan Ivey Price, Courtney Cutillo. Surviving siblings are Dominic DeSantis, Angie Kane, and Joan Newton. She was preceded in death by three sisters; Mary Koroblis, Carmela Nacca, and Anna Bryson. She was an active member of Holy Faith Catholic Church. She was a beloved wife, home maker, mother, grandmother, aunt, friend, and neighbor. Her home was the hub of activity in the neighborhood, as the joke was always that “she needed to install a revolving door in her house, because there was always someone coming and someone going”. Her kitchen was the heart of that hub, as she was always cooking, and no one ever went away hungry. Friends and neighbors would regularly come over to have a cup of coffee, and no one friend will miss her more than either of her best friends, Mary Cade, Doris Perry, or Orva Kauffman. Her extended family gathered often at her home on holidays so that all of them could gather and celebrate the joys of such a large, Italian household, eat her antipasta, her famous manicotti, and savor the smells of her home baked bread. Just two years ago, she managed to successfully pull off a Thanksgiving meal, at 82 years old, feeding 54 people from multiple states. She adored her family, and would show it through her food. For years, she was an active member of the regional Studebaker Club, and made several trips across the country to national Studebaker conventions, assisting with the logistics of the trips, and being a companion to her friends along the way. Photo album after photo album are filled with pictures of friends, antique cars, and memories from almost every state in the nation. She attended church every Sunday, and every day of observance. She was well known in Holy Faith Church, and her faith in God was unbreakable until her last breath. She is with her Lord in heaven now. Our loss is Heaven’s gain. We will all miss you, “Mimi”, “Toni”, “Mom”…. Funeral services will be held Saturday, January 16th at 9 a.m. at Holy Faith Catholic Church. The family will receive friends from 4-7 pm at the Milam Family Funeral Home, 311 South Main Street, Gainesville Florida. A funeral will be held Wednesday, January 27th at 10:30 a.m. at Higgins-O'Connor Funeral Home, 146 Main Street, Athol, burial will follow in Gethsemane Cemetery, Athol. Arrangements in Florida are under the care of MILAM FUNERAL AND CREMATION SERVICES- 311 S. Main St. Gainesville, Fl. (352) 376-5361 Arrangements in Massachusetts are under the care of Higgins-O’Connor Funeral Home, 146 Main Street, Athol.