Shirley Ann Vieira (Parker) passed away on December 2, 2023, at her home in Westport, MA, at the age of 75. She was surrounded by family supporting her through her courageous fight with cancer.
Shirley was born on August 2, 1948, in Wyoming, to Claude Vivian Parker and Bertha Mae Gifford Parker Brems. She was the youngest of six children, with four older brothers and one older sister: Roy Parker (wife Linda), Don Parker, Ralph Parker (wife Donna), Connie Wostenberg (husband Stuart), and Delbert Parker. Following the death of Claude, Bertha married Wesley Brems. Shirley worked very hard alongside her family to help run the farm and house. They didn’t have much, but they made the most of what they had. She went on to graduate high school in Wyoming and college in Utah (Brigham Young University). She met her future husband when she was finishing college and he was stationed in Utah in the Army. She married Tony (Antone C. Vieira, Jr.), on June 26, 1971. They moved to his hometown, Westport, Massachusetts, to start their family. They had four children and 11 grandchildren. They were her pride and joy and brought so much love and happiness to her.
Throughout her life, she was a constant example of faith, hard work, and service to others. She was a teacher and leader at school and in church. In her career in education, she was a middle school ELA teacher, a daycare provider, a long term elementary school substitute teacher, and a teacher assistant. She worked for the Westport Community Schools and then the Atlantis Charter School. One thing was constant throughout her many decades in education, she cared so much for the kids. She also helped plan and run drama club performances with the students. Additionally, she enjoyed volunteering at school to help students improve their reading fluency.
In church, she served in many different callings throughout the years including Primary, Scouts, Young Women, and Relief Society. Another form of service she enjoyed was volunteering her time at the local food pantry each week. She was always busy creating things for everyone. She loved to knit and sew. She preferred to give homemade gifts to family and would spend most of the year working on them to personalize each one. She was very talented and even started a small business to sell her knitted treasures. She also enjoyed coaching her children when they were growing up. She helped make sports a main theme in their lives, in the town, and even her own neighborhood. Watching her grandchildren excel in sports, music, art, and other extracurricular activities brought her so much happiness.
She is survived by her husband, Tony Vieira, her son Antone W. Vieira and his partner Shana Bloomstein, her son Martin B. Vieira and his wife Kimberlee Vieira, her daughter Cheryl A. Guild and her husband Jonathan Guild, and her son Thomas C. Vieira and his wife Kayleigh Vieira. She is also survived by her 11 grandchildren: Anotnio Ellis Vieira, Dorothy Vieira, Zoe Vieira, Joseph Guild, Lucy Vieira, Jackson Vieira, Alexis Guild, Portia Vieira, Ezra Vieira, Ann Shirley Vieira, and Mabel Vieira. She also welcomed Dawud Bloomstein and Nnenaya Bloomstein as her grandchildren. Furthermore, she is survived by her sister, Connie Wostenberg, her brothers-in-law Richard Vieira and Stuart Wostenberg, and her sisters-in-law Veronica Beaulieu, Bernice Vieira, Delta Vieira, Linda Parker, and Donna Parker, as well as many cousins, nieces, and nephews from both the Parker and Vieira families.
The calling hours for the wake will be on Tuesday, December 5, 2023, from 5:00-7:00 p.m. at Potter Funeral Home at 81 Reed Rd Westport, MA. The funeral will be on Wednesday, December 6, 2023 at 10:00 a.m., at The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints at 400 Cross Rd. Dartmouth, MA.
The burial will follow at Beech Grove Cemetery at 974 Main Rd. in Westport, MA.
Following the burial, there will be food and refreshments back at the church.