DONNELLY KELLY
Lucie Marie
Lucie Marie Donnelly Kelly (née Donnelly) (94) passed away peacefully, surrounded by loved ones on December 13, 2016. Lucie was born on the family farm in Rimbey, Alberta on March 14, 1922, to Jerome and Marie (née Van Humbeck) Donnelly and was the oldest of five sisters and one brother. Led by a sense of adventure, Lucie left her job as a teacher at a one-room schoolhouse in rural Alberta and moved to Montreal. At a time when it was not socially permissible for single women to live alone, Lucie temporarily rented a room at a convent before convincing her sisters, Evelyn and Phyllis, to join her across the country. She met the love of her life, John "Jack" Joseph Kelly the summer of 1951 at Le Manoir Richelieu Resort in Quebec, where she worked as the gift shop attendant and he worked as the head bellhop. They married on April 5, 1952 at St. Patrick's Cathedral in Montreal. Lucie and Jack immigrated to the United States in August 1954 and raised their family in metropolitan Detroit, where Jack was a family practice physician and Lucie was an involved homemaker and active volunteer for many organizations. Notably, Lucie volunteered for many years at St. Francis Cabrini Elementary School, where she introduced children to the joy and magic of reading, and worked as docent with the Detroit Institute of Art. Lucie's infectious enthusiasm for life was a treat to be around. Her many passions included golf, art, music, reading, entertaining, traveling, and making new friends. She delighted in and is survived by her children Kevin Kelly, Karen (Rick) Schaeffer, and Colleen Kelly; grandchildren Kaitlin (Charlie) Yardley, Megan (Tom Saffell) Schaeffer, Colin Kelly, Mia Kelly, and Madison Kelly, great-grandchildren Margot, Lucy, and Colleen Yardley, sisters, Evelyn (Laurie) Curran, Phyllis (Pete) Giacomin, and Doris Donnelly, and sister-in-law, Regina Donnelly. She is predeceased by her husband, son, Colin Kelly, brother, Patrick Donnelly, sister, Bernice Leboldus, brother-in-law, Frank Leboldus, and her parents. In the last years of her life she was lovingly cared for by Diana Lewis and her daughter and son-in-law, Lisa and Noel Torres. A Funeral Mass will be celebrated at St. Mary's Catholic Church in Rockville, Maryland on Friday, December 16, 2016 at 1:15 p.m. Interment will be held at a later date in Alberta, Canada. In lieu of flowers, memorial donations may be made to Montgomery Hospice, 1355 Piccard Drive, Rockville MD 20850.
The Interment Service for Lucie, Jack and Colin Kelly will be held at St. Mary's Cemetery, Bluffton, Alberta on Saturday, August 5, 2017 at 11:00 am. Prayers will be offered for Lucie's sister Evelyn who passed December 18, 2016. Evelyn was buried in West Vancouver