Dorothy Theresa Shields

Name: A Mass will be celebrated
Start: 04/20/2017 10:00 AM
Location: Finnerty & Stevens Funeral Home

June 22, 1917 — April 16, 2017

Dorothy “Doris” (nee Brannigan) Shields, 99, passed away peacefully Easter Sunday, after a brief illness, surrounded by her loving family.

Born on June 22, 1917 in Plains, PA. she was the daughter of Christopher and Anna Hogan Brannigan.

She married the love of her life Francis A. Shields on March 6,1942 who predeceased her in 1963. She was also predeceased by her son Thomas Christopher Shields in 2009 as well as her six siblings.

She moved to New Jersey early on and worked as a switch board operator and bookkeeper and retired at the age of seventy-five.

After her husband’s death, she spent the next fifty years with her sister Rose. They moved to Great Barrington in 2002 to be closer to family.

Before the loss of her sight, she enjoyed watching the news, Jeopardy, Wheel of Fortune and reading daily newspapers to keep current, “Playing Solitaire all by myself” and never wavering from her beloved Yankees.

A devout Catholic with unflappable faith, she was a communicant of St. Peter’s church, attending Mass until it became impossible for her to do so. It was very fitting and special for her to pass on one of the Holiest days of the year.

Doris is survived by her two daughters Maureen Hosford and her husband David and Kathleen(Katie) Shields and her partner James Daniels. She also leaves six grandchildren; Tracey Shields (Timothy Lawlor), Christopher Shields, Ryan Shields (Amanda Starr Shields), Corey Shields, Courtney Shields, and Sophia Hosford as well as six great grandchildren; Natasha, Lorelei, Tristan, Reilly, Trevor and Zachariah and many loving nieces and nephews.

SERVICES: A Mass for the late Doris Shields will be held on Thursday, April 20, 2017 at 10:00 A.M. at St. Peter’s Church in Gt. Barrington, conducted by Rev. William Murphy. The family will also have a viewing and burial in New Jersey. Donations in her memory can be made to St. Peter’s Building Fund or St. Jude Children’s Hospital through the Finnerty & Stevens Funeral Home, 426 Main Street, Gt. Barrington, MA. 01230. To send remembrances to her family go to www.finnertyandstevens.com

The family would like to extend a very special thanks to Anna Cambi, Audrey McIntosh and Natalie Weeks for their loving care, kindness and compassion. We couldn’t have done it without you! Also to Rebecca Penny for all her support and to Hospice Care of Central & Western Massachusetts. Last, but certainly not least, a very special and heartfelt thank you to Ellen Hosford, Betty Brown and Father William Murphy for their love and support through this difficult process and for being with us right to the end- you are very special people and we love you.

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