Arline Mary Shea

The family matriarch Arline Mary (Aldrich) Shea 69, of Tyngsboro, MA and a woman whose life centered on opening her heart and arms in caring and helping so many over the years, will be greatly missed following her peaceful passing on November 11, 2025, in Worcester, MA, where she was surrounded with those that loved her the most, following a strong and courageous fight with lung cancer.

Arline was born on January 12, 1956 to Boyd F. Aldrich and Arline (Vasallo) Aldrich of Lynn, Massachusetts.

She was a longtime resident of Tyngsboro moving from one side of the Merrimack River to the other but always staying in the town she loved. She enjoyed attending local community events.

Arline attended the Academy of Notre Dame in Tyngsboro, graduating in the class of 1973. She went on to earn her Registered Nurse Certificate from Lowell General School of Nursing in Lowell, MA. With a continued love for learning and a thirst for knowledge, she received her Bachelor’s degree in Business Management and later a Master’s degree in Business Administration from Rivier University in Nashua, NH.

Her love for always learning continued beyond the classroom setting and throughout her later years.

Arline was a Registered Nurse for more than forty-nine years and believed in servant leadership and always helping others. Becoming a Registered Nurse was not only her passion but her lifelong calling. She worked as a nurse in many settings including, Lowell General Hospital in Lowell, MA, Lahey Hospital in Burlington, MA where she specialized as a cardiac nurse and Nashoba Hospital in Ayer, MA. Arline also served as a visiting nurse, school nurse and held various positions at skilled nursing facilities across the state.

In June of 1998, Arline recognized a need for individualized and compassionate one-on-one care in her community and took her passion of helping others and started a successful nursing agency from the kitchen table of her home. A&B Registry of Health Services, Inc. was established. Through A&B Arline helped hundreds of local families ensure their loved ones received the quality care that they deserved day in and day out. She ran this business with pride and commitment until her death.

Anytime Arline would visit a local hospital, there was always a fellow nurse or doctor who knew her and wanted to stop and say hello, her dedication and reputation earned her the utmost respect amongst her colleagues.

Although her passion for nursing was strong there was always one thing that was even stronger and that was her love for her two daughters, Arline and Ashley. Arline always said that becoming a mother to her two daughters was the best thing that ever happened to her. If you knew her, she told you that her daughters were her greatest gift, and she felt so lucky to be their mother. The pride in her eyes was evident any time she spoke about their lives and accomplishments, she was so proud of them both.

Their memories are built on their yearly trips to Disney World where they spent countless hot summer days exploring the parks together, eating all the different foods and experiencing all that Disney had to offer. Her favorite ride was Big Thunder Mountain Railroad “the wildest ride in the wilderness”. She loved watching the Magic Kingdom fireworks with a dole whip in hand and taking character photos. These memories with her daughters were the highlights that she talked about for years, and she proudly displayed those photos throughout her home.

While her daughters were in school at the Academy of Notre Dame, her Alma Mater, she was an active volunteer and lead many successful fundraising auctions. Arline’s diligent efforts allowed them to set some of their highest fundraising records. Her contributions lead her to be honored by the Academy of Notre Dame as Alumni of the year.

She loved ice cream and never missed an opportunity to go for a drive and visit a local ice cream shop. Only one thing surpassed her love of ice cream, which was her love for penuche fudge from the Chocolate Moose. Every year she would get fudge for Christmas and her birthday, her daughters would buy her enough to last months, but everything was gone in just a few days.

She loved celebrating family events together and creating memories. She never arrived to a family or holiday gathering without being dressed in festive shirts with matching earrings, necklaces and a brooch.

Arline recently became a grandmother, which she said was her new purpose in life. She enjoyed spending quality time with her grandson, Leo and being his “Lovey.” Leo Mondays were her favorite day of the week.

Not a day went by that Leo didn’t FaceTime with his Lovey, or her daughters didn’t call to just say “hello”.

Her legacy will live on in those she loved and made her life complete, William B. Shea, Jr. of Tyngsboro, MA.

Her two daughters, Arline Shea, her wife Jennifer (Simonds) Shea and her grandson Leo Shea of Chelmsford, MA, and daughter Ashley (Shea) Hersom and her husband Richard Hersom, Jr. of Hudson, NH.

She is also survived by her sister, Barbara Aldrich and partner Charles Harting of Tyngsboro, MA, and her brother Brad Aldrich of Hudson, NH; her many nieces and nephews and her longtime best friends, Suzanne Glenn of Hudson, NH (who she always said was a sister to her) and Linda Cowan of Lowell, MA. Her sister Ann (Aldrich) Roy Blanchet and parents predeceased her.

In 2015, thanks to an anonymous 18-year-old male bone marrow donor, Arline became a proud survivor of Acute Myeloid Leukemia. To this day her family does not know who that donor was but sends their heartfelt gratitude not only to the donor but also Dr. Kellie Sprague and Dr. Michael Coyle, who she always said saved her life and gave her ten more years with her family. The night prior to her death Arline held Dr. Coyle’s hand and thanked him for the compassionate, collaborative care he and Dr. Sprague gave to her.

She was beyond grateful, as their successful treatment plan, allowed her to see not only both her daughters find the love of their lives and get married, but also to become a grandmother.

Her family also wishes to thank the wonderful, caring staff at Holy Trinity Skilled Nursing and Rehab Center in Worcester, MA where Arline spent her final days. The staff took her in as family and gave her the compassionate and loving care that she deserved.

Family and friends are invited to call on Thursday, November 13, 2025 from 4:00 to 8:00pm at the Dolan Funeral Home, 106 Middlesex Steet, Chelmsford, MA. A mass of Chistian burial will be celebrated on Friday, November 14, 2025 at 9:00am in St. John The Evangelist Parish, 115 Middlesex Street, North Chelmsford. Burial with committal prayers will follow the mass in the Flint Cemetery, Westford Road, Tyngsboro, MA.

In lieu of flowers, the family asks for donations to an organization that was dear to Arline and one which she supported wholeheartedly, St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital (https://www.stjude.org).