Anne Shepard Bullis

MARBLEHEAD - Anne Shepard Bullis passed away peacefully in her sleep after a short illness on October 13, 2024, at her home of the past three years in the Brooksby Village retirement community in Peabody, MA. She was just short of her 95th birthday.

Born on October 31, 1929, the daughter of Henry B. and Frances Dudley Shepard, Anne grew up in West Newton, MA. A graduate of Beaver Country Day School in Chestnut Hill, MA, Anne attended Hollins University in Roanoke, VA, class of 1951. A devoted Hollins alumna, Anne wrote the class notes for many years, keeping up with classmates via a round-robin letter and regular reunion attendance. In 2001, Anne was inducted into the Hollins Athletic Hall of Fame, honored for her superior athletic accomplishments, as well as sportsmanship, character, and leadership at Hollins and in her community.

Upon graduation, Anne returned to Boston, working in the financial industry and sharing a basement apartment with friends near Beacon Hill. She met her husband, Edmund P. (Ned) Bullis, while canvassing for the United Way in the neighborhood, and the couple was married in 1959, going on to celebrate 65 years of marriage. In 1960, Anne and Ned moved to Marblehead, MA, where they lived for more than 60 years, raising their two children, Louise and David, and enjoying an active life surrounded by close friends.

Above all an avid sportswoman, Anne excelled at racquet sports, touring England in the late 1950s as a member of the US Women’s Squash team and winning numerous tennis and badminton championships at Marblehead’s Eastern Yacht Club and the local badminton club, the Gut ‘n Feathers. Later in life, Anne traveled the country to compete in senior badminton matches and continued playing into her ‘90s. Anne and Ned also belonged to a family ski club in New Hampshire, the White Mountain Ski Runners (affectionately known as the White Mules after its mascot), where the family spent many winter weekends skiing together.

With an ear trained by growing up in a musical family, Anne continued to enjoy music throughout her life. In her young married days, she played the clarinet, performing for family occasions with Ned (also on clarinet), her older brother Henry on cello and younger brother Dudley on flute, plus their wives on tambourine and piano. She was a lifelong member of the Old North Church, where she sang with the Festival Chorus. And with Ned, over the years, she regularly attended Boston Symphony Orchestra concerts and opera performances, relishing the uplifting value of music.

Anne had a varied working life, teaching tennis in Marblehead, refereeing field hockey games, and finishing her career with more than 15 years of employment at Harbor Sweets in Salem, MA, where she progressed from wrapping chocolates to representing the confectionary company at food trade shows across the country.

All who met Anne can attest to her strong interest in others. From the hundreds of Marbleheaders and tourists she engaged while sitting on a bench at Fort Sewall looking out at Marblehead harbor, to the dozens of new friends she made at Brooksby Village, she always had a leading question to draw people out.

Anne is survived by her husband of 65 years, Edmund; her younger brother, Dudley Shepard of Exeter, NH, and his wife Becky; her daughter, Louise Bullis Yarmoff and husband Jean-Jacques Yarmoff of Marblehead, MA; her son, David Payne Bullis, and wife, Kay Seligsohn Bullis of Milton, MA; and her grandchildren, Marc Shepard Yarmoff, Eric Thuot Yarmoff, Thavy E. Bullis and Nira Jacob Bullis. Anne is predeceased by her sister, Perry Shepard, and older brother, Henry B. Shepard Jr.

A memorial service will be held at Old North Church, 35 Washington St., Marblehead, on Saturday, November 2 at 2:00 p.m. with a reception to follow in the parish hall. In lieu of flowers donations can be made in Anne’s memory to Girls Inc. in Lynn (https://girlsinclynn.org/) or to plant a tree in Marblehead please make checks payable to the Town of Marblehead and mail to Marblehead Tree Department, Attn: Tree Donation Fund, 3 Tower Way, Marblehead, MA 01945 (to learn more go to https://www.marblehead.org/tree-division/pages/donations). Fond memories and expressions of sympathy may be shared at eustisandcornellfuneralhome.com for Anne's family .