When Asuntina Barbara DeFelice was born on 2 July 1911, in Kingston, Plymouth, Massachusetts, United States, her father, Michele De Felice, was 24 and her mother, Rosa Montanari, was 18. She married Gerald Morton Blakeman Sr. in 1933, in Whitman, Plymouth, Massachusetts, United States. They were the parents of 2 son and 1 daughter. She lived in Plymouth and Whitman, Plymouth, Massachusetts, United States for about 60 years. She died on 4 May 1977, in Brockton, Plymouth, Massachusetts, United States, at the age of 65, and was buried in St James cemetery Whitman, Plymouth, Massachusetts, United States.
Born Assunta Barbara DeFelice but Americanized her first name to Tena (from the nickname "Assuntina", which means"little Assunta", as she was called by her family). She was 5 feet 2 inches tall, had dark hair - white in later life, and blue eyes.