Mary Eileen Kelly, 92, of Monmouth Beach, passed away peacefully March 30, 2021, at Care One King James in Atlantic Highlands.
Mary Eileen was born in Jersey City to the late Robert Henry and Mary Cecilia Doherty (née O’Neill). She graduated from St. Dominic Academy in Jersey City and attended Newark School of Fine and Industrial Art. She eventually moved to Middletown with her husband Jack to raise her family. There they were active members of St. Mary’s Church. Further along in life she worked as an interior decorator as she raised her children.
She enjoyed swimming at the Red Bank YMCA with friends and socializing at the Monmouth Beach Club. Mary Eileen enjoyed drawing, painting, sculpting and making ceramics. She was a congregation member at St. Michael’s in West Long Branch where she served as a Stephen Minister. She had been a parishioner of Church of the Precious Blood in Monmouth Beach for many years.
Mary Eileen was predeceased by her husband John A. Kelly, her daughter and son-in-law Barbara and Paul O’Rourke, her brothers Robert and Daniel Doherty and their spouses, her sister Gertrude Pezzutti, and her son-in-law Kevin Moran.
Surviving are her children and their spouses, Joanne Kelly and Donald Delli Paoli of Holmdel, Jackie and Nick West of Colts Neck, Sean and Karen Kelly of Oregon, Janet Kelly of Red Bank, and Mary Ellen Moran of Atlantic Highlands. She is also survived by 18 grandchildren and 11 great-grandchildren, with two more on the way.
A memorial gathering took place April 7 at Church of the Precious Blood, Monmouth Beach, with a memorial Mass. Burial followed at Mt. Olivet Cemetery in Middletown where Mary Eileen will rest alongside her beloved husband Jack.
In lieu of flowers, memorial donations may be sent in Mary Eileen’s memory to Deborah Heart & Lung Center via Deborah Hospital Foundation, 212 Trenton Road, Browns Mills, NJ 08015 or deborahfoundation.org.
Please visit Mary Eileen’s memorial website at johnedayfuneralhome.com.
The article originally appeared in the April 8 – 14, 2021 print edition of The Two River Times.
