Kevin Shea

Kevin F. Shea passed away on Feb. 2 after a courageous five-year battle with oral cancer. He was surrounded by his loving family in his home.

Kevin knew how to light up a room with his presence and sense of humor. No matter where he went, he always wanted people he came in contact with to feel special and to know that they mattered.

By the time he was in high school, Kevin had lived in six states. Kevin made a close group of friends at Westfield High in New Jersey before moving to California and graduating from Laguna Beach High. In his group of New Jersey high school friends was Maura, who became his wife and love of his life for 35 years.

A graduate of the UCLA class of 1981, Kevin received a bachelor’s degree in economics — a springboard for an incredible 40-year career in the wine business. Kevin traveled from California to New York, Chicago to New England, Chile to Barcelona, gathering colleagues and friends with each meeting.

Along with his devoted wife, Maura, Kevin loved his three children: Caitlin (Hopkinton High Class of 2006), Patrick (Class 2008) and his fiancée, Lanie, and Caroline (Class of 2012). The consummate dad, Kevin spent years cheering from the stands of countless ice and field hockey games and in the front row of theater productions. Summers in Boothbay Harbor in Maine and Point Pleasant Beach in New Jersey echo with fondness in the memories of his family. His adoration extended to his siblings, in-laws, nephews and nieces, along with his beloved mother-in-law and friend, “GG.”

Brady, his beloved beagle, predeceased him August of 2019. We know Brady welcomed him with a wagging tail and led him to the buffet where they could start eating whatever they could possibly want.

A funeral Mass was celebrated Feb. 8 in St. Matthew’s Parish in Southborough, and a celebration of life was held at the Hopkinton Center for the Arts on Feb. 8 because Kevin just wanted a dance party. Services were under the care of the Matarese Funeral Home in Ashland (mataresefuneral.com). In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to the Beagle Freedom Project, 4804 Laurel Canyon Blvd., No. 534, Valley Village, CA 91607.