WOLCOTT — The world was forever changed on November 8, 1937, when Shirley Opal Boardman entered the world. Born at home in South Peacham, to Gladys (May) and Dennis Boardman, she weighed in on the scale at the general store at a whopping four pounds; her mother recollected that she was small enough to be nestled into a shoe box. She was a tiny miracle but however small she may have been, the love that she brought into the world and carried throughout the course of her life was immense.
During her youth her family made several moves around Northern Vermont, living primarily in Hardwick and Wolcott. Eventually the family would come to call Wolcott home and the majority of her formative life events and family history took place there.
As a teenager Shirley worked at Camp Wapanaki where she served as a camp counselor in the nation’s first summer camp program for the visually impaired, operated by the New York Institute for the Blind. This was a foundational experience for her, one that she recalled fondly throughout her life and it was here that she found her calling as an educator, particularly to serve children with disabilities.
Upon earning her high school diploma from People’s Academy in Morrisville, in 1955, she went on to pursue her Bachelors degree in Education from Johnson Teacher’s College.
It was during this time that she consented to marrying a handsome young Airman by the name of Bradley Allen on July 19, 1958, and her adventure took a new direction. Her travels as a new Air Force wife and expectant mother would delay her graduation. Due to her delicate condition and the social standards in 1959, she was not allowed to attend classes to complete the last semester of her teaching degree. Over the course of the next four years, while raising three small children and moving around the country, she earned her final semester’s credits through correspondence courses with Texas Western College. With those credits transferred back to Johnson in 1963, she had finally earned her degree.
Being stationed in El Paso, Texas, Bradley took leave so she could attend commencement in Johnson and hear her name read. While she did not expect to be able to participate in the ceremony, to her surprise, there was an extra cap and gown that she would be able to wear, allowing her to walk across the stage. Years later, in 1988, Shirley would proudly earn her Master’s degree in Special Education. Her time serving children with special needs solidified her core belief about the great potential of all children, and that through education anything is possible.
Upon the family’s departure from the Air Force and subsequent return to Vermont in 1964, Shirley took on teaching posts in Glover, Hardwick, and Albany. After a hiatus to raise her last two children in the mid-70s, she returned to teaching in her hometown of Wolcott, further solidifying her connection and importance to the community. As they say, teachers touch all professions, and Shirley’s legacy is no exception. She fostered the learning of small town Vermont’s future generations, guiding hundreds of students who went on to become doctors, architects, firemen, EMTs, attorneys, entrepreneurs, servicemen and women, fellow educators, and countless other professionals.
Shirley retired in 2001, but that retirement was short-lived; she was drawn back to serve as a paraeducator for another 15 years. At 83 years of age, she returned to the classroom once again, homeschooling her two youngest grandchildren during the pandemic. We always gave mom a hard time for saving hundreds of textbooks, and every single mimeograph she ever created for school, but they sure came in handy that year!
Shirley appreciated the small pleasures in life. During her down time, she could be found relaxing, feet up, immersed in a good romance novel while enjoying her pink Canada mints or jelly beans (especially the black licorice ones). She and our Dad enjoyed researching the genealogy of their families and hers could be traced back to English royalty, as well as to 14 patriots of the American Revolution. She was a member of the Daughters of the American Revolution. On the farm, she loved raking hay in summer, she had the best tan in Lamoille County after hours of sitting on a tractor. It was good time spent with our Dad, she loved him very much and the pain of his loss seven years ago was keenly felt to the very end.
Sadly, the world was again forever changed on April 5, when she reluctantly departed it. Shirley never lost her will to live. Her tenacity, or stubbornness, was the stuff of legends. We, her children are grateful for inheriting so much of it, and her spirit is woven into our souls. She leaves behind her six children: Duane and wife Michelle (Bettis) of East Corinth; James and wife Simonne (Lepine) of Sparks, Nev.; Yvette Bohn, and husband Fred of Brookfield, N.H.; Stephanie of Barre, Joan LaRow, and husband Richard of East Calais; and Cheryl Gustafson, and husband Wayne of Suffield, Conn. She was exceedingly proud of the light that she and Bradley brought into this world through her 16 grandchildren and 11 great-grandchildren.
Please join us to honor her life and to share your memories of her. She requested that attendees wear colorful attire, as she hoped that these events would be a celebration of her life. We will gather for visiting hours at des Groseilliers Funeral Home on Friday, April 11, from 5 to 7 p.m. A funeral Mass will be celebrated on Saturday, April 12, at St. Norbert Catholic Church at 11 a.m. A reception will follow the Mass at the Julien Room at St. Norbert Church in Hardwick.
