Mary VandeWege ’49 Boeve

She loved to laugh. Mary Juliann “Muncie” Boeve, age 95, passed away on June 30, 2023.

She was born on August 27, 1927, in Holland, MI and graduated from Holland High School.

Muncie had a great enthusiasm for life with many hobbies and activities including sewing, playing piano, bridge, and cooking, although her favorite hobby was eating chocolate. She was a Dutch Dancer and helped train dancers after WWII (when Tulip Time had been cancelled). Muncie graduated from Hope College in 1949. It was at Hope where she met Ted Boeve. They married in 1949 and were married for 71 years. She also made many friends and continued a friendship through “The 49ers”, a group of ladies who met monthly for lunch until recently. She was a substitute teacher for the Holland Public Schools for 35 years and a member of the Woman’s Literary Club as well as a former member and president of the Holland Junior Welfare League. Muncie was a lifelong member of Trinity Reformed Church where she was active in many women’s programs and church choir. Muncie and Ted loved to ride on their motorcycle and spending winters in Gulf Shores, Alabama.

Although she rarely called any of her children by their given name and instead by a combination of their name and a sibling’s, she loved her kids deeply and unconditionally. This unique quirk of hers was what we fondly called one of her many “Muncieisms”.

Muncie was preceded in death by her loving parents, John and Mary Vande Wege and by her husband of 71 years, Ted.

She will be greatly missed by her children, Theodore and Karlene Boeve (Grand Rapids), Julie and David Olsen (Holland), John Boeve (Austin, TX), and Mary Ann and Rick Collison (Canton); and three grandchildren Mark and Bonnie Boeve and great grandson, Lawson Boeve(Husonville); Michelle Boeve and great granddaughter, Madeleine (Paris, France) and Kathryn Olsen (Portland, OR).