Nijole Regina Shutterly

1931 - 2021

SHUTTERLY, Nijole Regina, known to family and friends as "Niki" or "Tute," 89, of Richmond, passed away June 2, 2021. She was preceded in death by her parents, Jonas Kuprenas and Jadvyga Kuprenas; brother, Algimantas Kuprenas; and daughter-in-law, Margaret A. Shutterly. She is survived by her beloved sons, Michael T. Shutterly (Pat) of Henrico, Va. and Ralph Steve Shutterly (Pat) of Crawford, Idaho; beloved grandsons, Jeffrey Shutterly (Elizabeth Sewell) of Richmond, Va., Andrew Shutterly (Bess Hoskins) of Rockville, Md. and Nicholas Shutterly (Leslie Myint) of St. Paul, Minn. She was born August 16, 1931, in Kaunas, Lithuania. After enduring the first Soviet occupation of Lithuania, which began in 1940 when she was only nine years old, and nearly dying of starvation during the German occupation of 1941 to 1944, she and her mother and brother managed to escape to the West shortly before the second Soviet occupation, finally arriving in the United States in 1949 just days before her 18th birthday. She enjoyed a 30-year career at the Library of Congress, retiring as Chief of the Library's European Exchange Section. Never having the opportunity to attend college, she did not have the required doctoral degree for this job, but that requirement was waived due to her linguistic skills: in addition to her native Lithuanian and Polish, she learned Russian during the Soviet occupation, German during the German occupation, French while living as a refugee in the French occupied zone of post-War Germany, and English within months of her arrival in the United States. She found her greatest happiness in her family. After raising her two sons virtually alone, she spent the last 35 years of her life doting on her beloved grandsons. She attended every important event in their lives: their elementary and secondary school programs; their college and law school graduations; Eagle Scout award ceremonies; her oldest grandson's graduation from the U.S. Army boot camp at Ft. Leonard Wood in Missouri. When Michael's employer transferred him and his family from Maryland to Richmond, she sold her home and moved to Richmond herself, to remain close to them all. When her grandsons' mother died tragically while the boys were still young, she did her best to fill that enormous void. Her last great adventure was in 2019 when, just before her 88th birthday, she traveled to Lithuania with her U.S.-born family, bringing them to meet their extended family still living in Lithuania. A celebration of her life will be held from 4 to 6 p.m. Saturday, June 5, 2021 at Bliley's-Chippenham, 6900 Hull Street Rd., Richmond, Va. Due to her experience during WWII, she knew what it was like to be a homeless refugee and would have appreciated donations in her memory being made to CARITAS of Richmond, 2220 Stockton Street, Richmond, Va. 23224.