TOPSFIELD -- As a girl, Betty Chagnon had no idea there was a Great Depression.

Growing up on a farm in Hamilton, Chagnon and her eight siblings lived off the plants and animals they raised. There was always enough food. It was hard work, but that was the only life they had.

"We didn't know any different," said Chagnon, now 99.

Her mother, an Italian immigrant who spoke little English, only bought four things from the store: Coffee, flour, salt, and olive oil. The family grew everything else themselves. Faith and food were everything.

"You went to Mass on Sunday," Chagnon said. "We walked three miles to church, and we went every Sunday, no excuses."

Chagnon, her sister Theresa Zampell, and the rest of the family attended St. Paul Parish in Hamilton. St. Paul's would remain Chagnon and Zampell's home parish for almost a century. They would do anything they were asked to do for the church -- and anything they weren't asked to, too.

"The secretary was always very busy," said Zampell, who recently celebrated her 101st birthday. "We always stepped in to help her. She never had to ask us. We did it on our own."

For their lifetime of service to St. Paul's, Chagnon and Zampell were two of the 102 people who received Cheverus Awards in 2025. The annual award honors those who have quietly dedicated their lives to the service of the Church in the Archdiocese of Boston.

Chagnon and Zampell were unable to attend the ceremony at the Cathedral of the Holy Cross last November, so their pastor, Father David Brogan, gave them the medals himself. The sisters wore their medals when they spoke to The Pilot on Jan. 29.

"I felt like a million," Chagnon said about winning the medal.

"I was surprised, but then when I thought about it, I know we did all these things, but she never had to ask us," Zampell said, referring to the parish secretary.

"We just went and did it," she added.

It was Father Brogan who nominated them for the award.

"I nominated them to Bishop Hennessey and Archbishop Henning because of their constant faithfulness, their fidelity to the parish over the course of their lives," he said. "They contributed in any number of ways to the parish by their presence and their fidelity. They are good-hearted women who are focused on Christ and have given their lives in service to the parish."

Chagnon said she volunteered for so long because she loved her church.

"We grew up there," Zampell said. "It was a nice parish. Everybody was very friendly."

Zampell and Chagnon were born Theresa and Elizabeth Stelline in 1925 and 1926, respectively.

"I feel the same as I did 20 years ago," said Chagnon, who isn't sure how she plans to celebrate her 100th birthday.

"It's just another day," Zampell said. "I'm busy no matter which day it is."

The farm they grew up in is now part of Bradley Palmer State Park in Hamilton. Their father was the groundskeeper of Palmer's estate. After graduating from high school, Chagnon worked as a bookkeeper and Zampell worked as a private secretary before they met their respective husbands. Theresa met Louis Zampell at Beverly Farms, and they were married from 1946 until Louis's death in 2004. The couple adopted two children. Betty met Paul Chagnon, a WWII Air Force veteran, at a party and married him in 1949.

"It was a wonderful day," she said about their wedding. "We had a nice party."

The party was at her mother's house.

"You came to my mother's house, everybody ate," Chagnon said. "The food was homemade and delicious."

Paul Chagnon died in 1999. St. Paul's helped Betty cope with her husband's death.

"It was just a passing of time that never seemed to go by," she said.

She now has three children, five grandchildren, and one great grandchild. They make spaghetti sauce the old-fashioned way, just like Chagnon and Zampell did.

The sisters attended Sunday Mass, and daily Mass whenever they could, at St. Paul's until their late 90s, when they moved to Masconomet Rehabilitation and Healthcare Center in Topsfield. They still attend Mass at St. Paul's once a month.

"My church has done a lot for me," Chagnon said. "I love the church, I love the priests. I love the people that worked there and that came there. It was my home away from home."