For more than 60 years, Margaret “Peggy” (Lee) Fulco was a near daily sight in Chelsea Square, out walking with her children, her grandchildren or a friend, going in and out of the shops and stopping to talk with whoever she met. Born in Chelsea on April 13, 1936, she lived in the city for 83 years. She died on November 14, 2026, at age 90, after several months of chronic pain.
Her parents were the late Augustus F. and Margaret E. (Bolger) Lee. She was married for 50 years to Michael J. “Mike” Fulco Sr., who died seven years ago. Their home was rarely empty: there were card games, family gatherings, and a kitchen she worked every day of the week for decades, known for meatballs, lasagna and stuffed mushrooms.
She played bingo, did crafts, liked a casino trip and traveled widely with family and friends. Bermuda drew her back close to 25 times, and she also saw Honolulu, Tokyo, London, Mexico and the Caribbean.
Her last three years were spent among the residents and staff of Maplewood Place in Malden and the Brudnick Center for Senior Living in Peabody. Her family thanks both, and singles out the nurses and nursing assistants at the Brudnick Center.
The family members named as her survivors are Paul Rustigian and Tina Fulco Chadwick, both of Saugus, and Richard Rustigian of Everett. She also leaves Charles Michael Joseph Rustigian of Emmitsburg, Maryland, a firefighter and EMT whom she and her husband raised from birth, and his fiancee, Emma Olszewski; a grandson, Anthony Rustigian of Everett; a friend since the 1980s, Kimberly Kupczewski Huggins of Seneca, Illinois; her former daughter-in-law, Rona Lawson of Winchester, Kentucky; and many nieces and nephews. Three sisters died before her: Barbara Penniston, Anna Polino and Dorothea Censullo.
No public service is listed. She will be cremated, and close family will scatter her ashes at sea at a later date, as they did for her husband. Arrangements are with Boston Cremation in Malden.
Compiled from information published by Boston Cremation, Malden. Photograph courtesy of the family via Boston Cremation. This is our own summary, not the family’s obituary; read the full obituary and leave a condolence at the funeral home’s page on Legacy.com. Corrections: we will fix any error promptly.