Obituary of Shirley Chepulis

Shirley (Mason) Chepulis, a life long resident of Burlington passed away peacefully at her home on Monday morning, April 24, 2023.  She was 95 years old.  Shirley was born in the farmhouse on the family farm on Center Street in Burlington.  Her parents, Frank and Susan Mason owned and operated the Mason Farm which had farmland, cows, chickens, pigs, and other livestock that spanned the land on both sides of Center Street.  Burlington was a small farming community at the time with a population of around 1700.  Her years were spent working on the farm alongside her parents and siblings and being homeschooled by her mother.  She would eventually go to school.  Her mother did such a good job with Shirley’s home schooling, she was placed in a grade level where she was much younger than her fellow students.  She would graduate high school at the Union School located next to the family farm.  After high school, she went to work at Borden Ice Cream in the production department and then as a secretary.  Two special events happened while working at Borden.  First, Shirley was a very beautiful young lady, and she was picked as “Miss Borden” and was in a parade accompanied by Alfred Hitchcock.  Second, Shirley met a coworker and her future husband, Edward Chepulis. 

Shirley married Edward Chepulis and together they built their forever home in Burlington.  Shirley had three sons and she devoted her time to raising them and helping run her husband’s business, E.C. Plumbing.  She was a bit of a homebody.  She enjoyed maintaining her home, she was a fantastic cook with many Lithuanian dishes.  She always had a garden which was a homage to her upbringing.  Nothing went to waste from her harvests.  What couldn’t be consumed immediately was always canned for future use or shared with family and friends.  She had an incredible memory and was the family historian, keeping scrapbooks and sharing the family history with her family.  She was also a resource for John Fogelberg, who wrote a book on Burlington’s history.  But most of all, Shirley was a very independent and proud woman.  There wasn’t much that she couldn’t do around her home.  Even when she lost the lower part of her leg, she was still out and about tending to her yard and pulling weeds.  She was truly an exceptional woman and a part of Burlington’s history.

Shirley was the beloved wife of the late Edward W. Chepulis. She was the loving mother of Edward Chepulis, Jr. & his wife Margie of MI, Albert Chepulis of Peabody, & Robert Chepulis of Burlington. She was the mother-in-law of Cheryl Veator of Billerica.  She was the sister of Joan Linehan of Chelmsford, Joyce Lemire of Westford, and the late Emily Anderson, Robert & Frank Mason.  She was the proud grandmother of Mason Chepulis & his wife Laura of Bow, NH, Taylor Chepulis & his wife Leya of Candia, NH, Erica Chepulis & her partner Timothy Conner of Peabody, Christopher Chepulis & his partner Michaela Thompson of Reading, Sarah Cote & her husband Dan of Tewksbury, Joseph Veator & his wife Deanna of Salem, NH.  Great grandmother of Owen, Blake, Caleb, Amelia, Amanda, Vincent, and Aubrey. 

Visiting hours will be held at the Edward V. Sullivan Funeral Home, 43 Winn St., Burlington on Sunday, April 30 from 3-5 p.m. Funeral services will be held at the Sullivan Funeral Home on Monday, May 1 at noon. 

Interment in Pine Haven Cemetery, Burlington.

For online guestbook and video tribute see www.sullivanfuneralhome.net