Margaret Emily (Kelliher) Shea of Virginia Beach, Virginia; born January 11, 1949, originally from Malden, Massachusetts, passed away peacefully at home, surrounded by family on October 7, 2025 – The Feast of the Holy Rosary, at the age of 76.
She will deeply be missed by her family and friends who recognized her most for her deep Catholic faith, generous love, and profound trust in Jesus, Our Blessed Mother and Saint Joseph. Her desire was always to please God, to accept whatever He asked of her, in order to one day, be eternally united to Him in Heaven. She was a security and protection to all who knew her. She left for us all a model to follow, and the gift of God‘s infinite love and presence just by knowing her. In the words of her Patron Saint, Therese of Lisieux, “How sweet is the way of love! Of course, one may stumble and be guilty of small faults, but love, able to draw good from everything, will very quickly destroy all that displeases Jesus and will fill one’s heart with a deep and humble peace.” The witness of her life and death testified to the truth of these words.
Margaret (Peggy) is survived by her loving husband of 54 years, Daniel Collins Shea and her children, Daniel (Rose) Shea of Malden, MA, Kelli (Thomas) Esposito of Virginia Beach, VA, Lesley (Michael) Mauti of Tyngsboro, MA, and Patrick (Heather) Shea of Tacoma, WA, her 13 grandchildren: Kateri, Colin, Daniel, Celine, Mireya, Grace, Liam, Aidan, Tashera, Shea, LeShawn, Keegan, and Colton.
She was preceded in death by her parents Humphrey (Fred) and Nellie (Duncan) Kelliher; sisters Shirley Driscoll, Jeannette Webber, Roberta Connolly, and Billie Morris, survived by Frances O’Brien and Katherine Mulligan.
A Mass of Christian Burial celebrating Margaret's life will be held at Sacred Hearts Church, 297 Main Street, Malden on Wednesday October 15th at 11:00am. relatives and friends are respectfully invited to attend. Visitation will be held at the A. J. Spadafora Funeral Home, 865 Main Street, Malden on Wednesday from 9:00am-10:30am prior to the Mass. Interment will be in Holy Cross Cemetery, Malden.
In lieu of flowers the family requests that masses be offered for the repose of her soul:
https://www.forms.marian.org
https://www.littleflower.org