Shirley Theodora Burgess (nee Johnson), a lifelong resident of Malden, passed away peacefully on June 1st, 2021. Shirley was born in Cambridge, MA in 1930, the daughter of Rosamond Beatrice March and Theodore Johnson. She was raised primarily by her mother who owned a small nursing home in Malden in which Shirley lived amongst its residents for much of her teenage life.

Shirley was a graduate of Malden High School with the Class of 1948. She was an enthusiastic cheerleader and was active in many student organizations. Shortly after graduation, she married her high school sweetheart and star football player, Henry Chester Burgess, and the two settled down together in Malden, sharing nearly 69 years of marriage.

Being the mother of 8 children, Shirley's first job was as a devoted (and exhausted) mother. Once her kids were grown, she threw herself into a successful career in retail working first at Jordan Marsh in Malden, then moving on to Filenes and ultimately ending her career at Macy's. She received numerous awards to commemorate her amazing skills and successes in sales. She was a true standout and a valued asset to the retail world. In the end, she worked for over 45 years, retiring at the young age of 83.

Shirley was exceptionally stylish and had an incredible knack of knowing how to put an outfit together - from a simple scarf, to elegant jewelry or coordinated jacket - she was always on the leading edge of fashion. Her customers benefited and appreciated her sense of style as many would enter the store looking to purchase a single item, but then would leave with a coordinated outfit including jacket, blouse, pants, jewelry, etc. She left an impression on everyone she served and on occasion developed a friendship with many of her returning customers. In fact, it was a rare outing if one of her customers did not recognize her as the kind and stylish woman from Women's Better Sportswear.

We would be remiss to not mention her skills in retail went beyond sales as she was also a fine purveyor of retail for herself, children, grandchildren and great grandchildren. To those who knew Shirley well, were familiar with her deep love of shopping and passion for gift giving.

Many would think her love stopped there, but she was also an avid fan of all things Disney. She traveled to Disney World as much as possible and single handedly kept the Disney Store at the Square One Mall afloat with numerous purchases to add to her growing collection of Mickey artifacts. A tour through her home in Malden would astonish the mind on how one could purchase so many items and display them in such an attractive and charming way. It was an amazing tribute to her passion for Disney and provided her with such joy to share the stories attached to each item.

Shirley is survived by her children, Jane C. Fowler of AZ, George H. Burgess of Malden, Michael D. Burgess of Lynn, Nancy J. Weymouth of Wilmington, Timothy R. Burgess of Medford, Judith "Judi" R. Dokus of Littleton, and Kristine E. Burgess of Boxborough, as well as 19 grandchildren and 7 great-grandchildren.

In addition to her parents, she was preceded in death by her husband Henry Chester Burgess, brother David "Duddy" March, sister Sandra Flitcroft (nee Churchill) and daughter, Doris A. Weymouth.

We will miss her sense of humor, her smile, her love for her family. Her list of positive attributes is endless. We know it was your time to go, Mom, we miss you dearly, but your love shines on through your extensive and loving family.

Visiting hours for Shirley will be held at the Dello Russo Family Funeral Home, 374 Main St., Wilmington, on Saturday, June 5th, from 2- 5 PM, with a eulogy to be given at 5PM. Family and friends are respectfully invited to attend.

In lieu of flowers, the family suggests buying yourself something frivolous but nice and consider making a donation in Shirley's name to The American Cancer Society, https://www.cancer.org/involved/donate.html