Obituaries

On Sunday, The Lord’s Day, October 25, 2026 our beloved Wife, Mum, Nan, Great Nan, Sister, Aunt, Great Aunt, cousin and friend passed away peacefully surrounded by the family she dearly loved. On the wings of the Angels, she gracefully journeyed home to her Father in Heaven, and to be with her beloved Mother Mary and her dearly beloved ones that have gone before her. We know the heavenly reunion was glorious, and the anticipation of that made letting her go just a little bit easier.

She was predeceased by an unborn child; her parents Basil and Dorothy Burns; her brothers Bob and John; sister-in-law Carol; her sister and best friend Joan; mother-in-law Gladys; and 2 unborn grandchildren. A few special fur grand babies as well, especially Mayzee who drove her crazy, but left the weekend before her to jump up and down and greet her at the gates.

She leaves behind so many who will miss her dearly and deeply and will lovingly keep her memory alive.

Her ‘smitten to the end’ husband Tom of 59 years who never missed giving her a dozen roses on every special occasion, brought her flowers just because, and took care of all she needed to keep her running their life, family and home.

Her beautiful daughters that were her whole world, reason for living and who she was the best mum to; Colleen (Jeff), Shawna (Lee), Patricia (Darrin), and Kelly (Jon).

Special 1st son-in-law Carmine.

The grandchildren that were the light of her life and she cherished with all her heart; Nicolas (Danika), Katie, Daniel, Hannah, Alex, Caleb, Aidan, Cailin, Ceira, and the sweetest little boy who fulfilled her greatest bucket list wish to become a great Nan, her great-grandson Dominic.

Favorite and adored baby brother Pat, and Val the beautiful sister he gifted her. Sweet little sister Maureen her forever flower girl. Jackie the sister her brother John gifted her and Joan, and her dear sister Marg, who has always said the best thing her brother Tom ever did was to marry her sister.

Special Nephews Rob (Sue), Ryan (Gracey), Rob (Carly), and Kelly (Lauren); Special Nieces Elaine, Bonnie (Dryden), Sharla, Jamie and, Azriel; several great nieces and nephews especially her Sweet Amarina.

Shirley was born in Regina and stayed here all her life.

She attended St. Patrick’s Elementary School where she met her best friend forever Dawn. The stories and memories are plentiful and plenty entertaining. They maintained their friendship through all of their stages of life and even though Dawn lived in Ontario they always stayed in touch.

She went to attend Sacred Heart Academy, and wore that horrible unfashionable uniform with pride. She never wore make-up, was a smart diligent student and not a very social girl. Yet one day while at the local ‘Chicken Inn’ hangout spot with her high school friends, she would meet the man she would marry and create a long and beautiful life with. She landed a James Dean style poster guy, now known as Tom the train man. They had 4 beautiful daughters, in ridiculously close age, build a beautiful home from scratch, where we have all enjoyed parties, and plates of delicious food and family fun. Through it all, trips, trials, church and charity service, hosts of the best celebrations and never missing a moment big or small in their families’ lives, these 2 young kids did the best that they could and made it 59 amazing years.

She was an ‘Avon lady’, Medical center one that is, and still has lunch with the girls. Every month her phone would be pinging like crazy while everyone was deciding on their lunch spot, which she looked so forward to. She stayed home to raise her girls for 15 years, then she returned to working outside the home at Avon Medical Center where she was a receptionist for Doctor Carol Geddes for 16 years. She was a dedicated receptionist, and Dr. Geddes remained her doctor and friend right up to the end. While Dr. Geddes visited her in the hospital, she said people still told her how great Shirley was

She was number 2 of the crew of 6 that our beloved Dotty and Basil had. Their first daughter. She came into the world and their family with a God given nature of service, obedience and patience. Her tiny soul started out pretty little and fragile as a preemie in the 40’s. She would soon show the world she was small but strong, and was here to serve, survive and thrive even through trials and tribulations beyond what most of us in generations after can only fathom. This forged a woman of great strength, integrity, selflessness, and faith.

She could tap dance, sing with Franky Vally like the hip heart breaker she was in her day, we all have a crocheted thing she twirled up in record time with precision and perfection, have eaten her brownies by the Rubbermaid container full, revelled in the beauty of her home and garden worthy yards, and had no idea how much time the growing goddess she was actually spent weeding till recently when she couldn’t anymore. Nobody compares to the level of organization and execution she perfected when it came to big family gatherings. We all have a ‘favorite’ dish or treat that ‘Mum’ or ‘Nan’ made us. The memories in the Mulligan home and around the ‘Mulligan’ table will forever be fond and cherished.

She dedicated her life to family, friends and service to her Catholic faith and fellow man. She never missed Sunday mass. Even when travelling to Mexico, campgrounds, or visiting her kids, she would make sure she knew where she could attend mass. Once she retired, every morning she had a ritual that she never deviated from. She made her tea, said her rosary and prayed for everyone and anyone who was going through anything hard or was in the midst of something difficult or celebratory. A candle was always lit and a mass was offered for anyone having a struggle or that passed away. Many mornings we heard, ‘Mom is doing her prayers’, and nothing happened till after that. She held true to a very cute saying that her niece once said, “Only God, Santa and Auntie Shirley are perfect”

Shirley had a huge heart of gold and was a generous, giving, kind, self-less soul. She gave to many charities and was known as the ‘Muffin lady’ at Marion center for the bi-weekly delivery of muffins for the men’s coffee time. She was part of the CWL and volunteered to do many things at church including ‘counting’ for collections. She also spent several years crocheting and organizing the needs for Angels for warmth.

Our Shirl, Mum, Mu Mah, Nan, Great Nan, Auntie Shirley and Big sister was and always will be the ‘Core’ of the Mulligan family.

We will miss you more than words can ever say, but we know you will be watching over us always and forever.

Prayer Vigil Service will be on Thursday, October 29, 2026 at 7:00 p.m. in St. Peter’s Roman Catholic Church, 100 Argyle Street, Regina, Saskatchewan. Funeral Mass will be on Friday, October 30, 2026 at 11:00 a.m. in St. Peter’s Roman Catholic Church, 100 Argyle Street, Regina, Saskatchewan. Interment to follow in Riverside Memorial Park Cemetery, 815 Assiniboine Avenue East, Regina, Saskatchewan.

In lieu of flowers, please consider donating to SOFIA House or Marian Centre in honour of Shirley.