A Medway nurse who has beloved in her community and who fostered 20 children born addicted to drugs, passed away after an extended battle with cancer on Monday, her family tells Boston 25 News.
Shelly Sepulveda had been battling cancer for two years and was recently surprised by the New England Patriots with tickets to Super Bowl LX in Santa Clara, California.
Shelly’s family tells Boston 25 that she passed away early Monday morning, just hours after the Patriots punched their own ticket to the Super Bowl after a 10-7 AFC Championship victory over the Denver Broncos.
“When I’m here, I don’t think about cancer, I watch the Patriots,” Shelly told Patriots owner Robert Kraft when he surprised her with the tickets prior to the Patriots’ Wild Card game against the Los Angeles Chargers.
Shelly, a former NICU nurse, has given back to her community for years by fostering drug-addicted children and adopting five kids with her wife Tami.
She was diagnosed with stage 3 ovarian cancer in 2024.
“It’s a constant battle, and it is survivorship and fighting for my life,” Shelly told Boston 25 News in January of last year. “There’s a lot of people going through cancer that don’t have the support. And I do, and I’m lucky. I’m lucky I have the friends and family I have.”
Since becoming ill, Shelly assembled a bucket list of items she hoped to check off.
One of her wishes was to make it a Patriots game.
She was also surprised with a basketball signed by the entire current Celtics team.
Her sister-in-law also stepped in for her and hiked part of the Appalachian Trail when she was too sick to make her trip.
Shelly’s family tells Boston 25 that they lost life insurance when Shelly was no longer able to work.
Anyone interested in helping support Shelly can click this link and head to the family’s GoFundMe page.
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