Obituary of Shirley L. Heise

Shirley L. Heise (86), a woman of great strength and strong devotion to her family, passed away at her home on Sunday December 4, 2016, after a long illness. Shirley was born in Cambridge, one of five children born to John and Clara Belle Poingdester. She grew up in Cambridge and often spent time with family at her grandfather’s cottage in Old Orchard Beach, ME. After graduating from Cambridge High and Latin, She married Joseph J. Cabral and began a family together. Joe was transferred to California while serving in the U.S. Marines leaving Shirley behind in Cambridge. During this time, Shirley received a call from Ralph Edwards, host of Truth Or Consequences to come on the show to surprise her husband on live TV. Shirley and her infant son Stephen flew to California where she appeared on the show. It was a wonderful surprise for Joe to be reunited with his family once again. After the show, Shirley and young Stephen remained in California until the end of Joe’s enlistment. They returned to Massachusetts where the family continued to grow. In 1960 they bought a home in Burlington for themselves and their four children. In 1965, tragedy struck the young family when Joseph passed away suddenly at the age of 38. Alone with four young children, Shirley was blessed to meet another loving and caring man, Thomas J. Heise, who she married. Tom was a devoted and loving husband to Shirley and embraced the idea of becoming an instant father of four. Shirley and Tom loved the outdoors, being on the go, and being with family. Over the years they traveled extensively in a series of motor homes, while spending summers camping by the ocean at Gray Homestead on Southport Island, Maine. Camping brought wonderful memories filled with friends, family, laughter and love. She was an excellent cook and was always ready to feed company at a moment’s notice. She cooked everything from scratch, from fish chowder to lasagna, but her macaroni and cheese was the favorite of all the grandchildren. Over the years she enjoyed boating, fishing, snowmobiling, sewing, knitting, dancing, yard sales, oil painting and BINGO, but what she loved the most was spending time with her family and friends. Shirley was completely devoted to her family and was always thinking of others before herself. This has been a very difficult year for her, between her declining health and the recent passing of her two sons, Robert in January and Stephen in November. She was the true matriarch of her family, the one everyone could turn to, and the one that everyone wanted to be with. Shirley was the beloved wife of the late Joseph J. Cabral and Thomas J. Heise. She was the loving mother of Sandra McNutt of Lowell, Karen Sheehan of Chelmsford, and the late Stephen Cabral and Robert Cabral. She was the sister of Charles Poingdester of ME, and the late Dorothy Atwood, Jean Garland, and John Poingdester. Shirley is survived by 9 grandchildren and 15 great-grandchildren. The family will host a Joint Celebration of Life in honor of both Shirley and her son Stephen at a future date. In lieu of flowers, memorials in their names may be made to: Salvation Army, Massachusetts Division, 25 Shawmut Road, Canton, MA 02021 www.massachusetts.salvationarmy.org.