Alma Wahlberg, the mother of entertainers Mark and Donnie Wahlberg and a regular on their reality series “Wahlburgers,” has passed away, her sons said on social media on Sunday. She was 78.
“My angel. Rest in peace,” tweeted Mark Wahlberg.
Donnie Wahlberg posted a longer tribute to his mother on his Instagram account.
“It’s time to rest peacefully, Mom,” wrote Donnie Wahlberg. “I love you, I miss you, thank you and will celebrate you today and always.”
No information has been given as to the cause, date, or location of her death. Donnie Wahlberg often posted on his accounts about his mother and in July he informed his fans about her health by writing that she ‘didn’t remember much and was often confused, but somehow’ still Alma ‘ used to be.
The Boston-born mother of nine became a household name for her appearances on the A&E series “Wahlburgers,” about the family’s burgeoning burger chain.
She didn’t apologize for who she was, but never put herself above anyone else. She kicked our ass when we messed up, kicked someone else’s ass when they messed with us. Taught us well, made us pay the price if we were wrong, ”Donnie Wahlberg wrote on Sunday. “She was the epitome of the word grace.”
He also included a video of them dancing to one of her favorite Regina Belle songs, “If I Could” at his wedding. He wrote that she danced to that song at each of her children’s weddings, but at his own wedding, he surprised her by having Belle there to perform it live.
On the “Today” show in 2018, Alma Wahlberg talked about her parenting and how difficult it was early on. “I’ve come up with the craziest meals,” she said. English muffin pizzas were among her creations to feed her hungry lot.
More than a few of her children achieved great success and fame. Her son Paul Wahlberg, who is the chef behind the eponymous burger chain, also named the Alma Nove restaurant in Hingham, Massachusetts, after her.
“People know me as the mother of famous children, and while this fact has brought many gifts into my life and opened up opportunities for me that might otherwise never have been possible, there is much more to my story than most people know,” Alma Wahlberg said in an interview with Boston’s WCVB-TV in 2018. ” I’ve lived with alcoholism and abuse; struggled with poverty and experienced great wealth; lost so many that I loved; struggling to raise nine children, and I love them more than anything else; watch them suffer, learn and come out on the other side; lost myself; found myself over and over again; and kept moving forward no matter what. “
Alma Wahlberg leaves behind eight children. Her daughter Debbie died in 2003.