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Mary E. Sullivan Kelly
February 18, 2011

Obituary

Mary Sullivan Kelly, 84, a lifelong resident of Malden, passed away peacefully on February 18th 2011 at home surrounded by loved ones. She was the oldest of two daughters of the late John P. and Jane E. (Spencer) Sullivan. She was predeceased by her husband, Marcus “Charlie” Kelly. She has been a lifelong faithful parishioner at Immaculate Conception Parish in Malden and was educated in the parish schools. An Emmanuel College Class of 1947 Alumni, she was employed as an accountant at John Hancock Insurance Company, and was one of the first females to hold an executive level position there. Mary was a member of the Malden Democratic City Committee and a delegate of the State Democratic Convention until she was appointed by Governor Dukakis to the State Ballot Law Commission. She was a corporator of Hallmark Health Hospitals, member of Boston Beara Society, Boston Eire Society and the Charitable Irish Society. In 2006 she was nominated for Boston College’s “Irish Faces – the Heart and Soul of Boston” a tribute for the top 100 successful and active Irish descendents of Boston. Mary and her husband Charlie, enjoyed traveling, having visited the Northeast USA and Canada by automobile and visited the balance of the Continental United States by train. In addition, they visited Ireland each year, with occasional side trips to England and Scotland. In July 2007 they had completed two dozen overseas trips. They were often accompanied by a niece or nephew serving as a driver and were able to visit all 32 counties in Ireland visiting family members and friends. Mary’s mother and father were Castletownbere, County Cork natives. She loved her Irish heritage and enjoyed dual citizenship in both the US and Ireland. In June of 2007 she met Deputy First Minister Martin McGuiness on a visit to Stormont.
Mary loved the Boston Symphony Orchestra and the Boston Pops. She brought nieces and nephews to their shows yearly. She encouraged her nieces and nephews to develop interest in the arts by bringing them to many Broadway plays. She was also active in the Boston Museum of Fine Arts and Salem’s Peabody Essex Museum community.
Mary served as a judge for the Kennedy Library’s “Profile of Courage” award essay for high school students nationwide. She was active in the Friends of the Malden Public Library, looking forward to their yearly trivia and wine tasting night; she always sold the most tickets. She was also a member of Malden’s Historical Society and Victorian Society.
She is survived by one sister, Catherine Sullivan Hart of Arlington; her nieces and nephews, including Richard Hart and wife Ying of Stoneham; Darlene Hart and husband George Allen of California; Deirdre Butts of Marlborough; George Hart of California; she was also predeceased by niece Donna Hart and nephew Franklin Hart of Arlington; grandnieces and nephews Tara, Jennifer, Megan, Brendan, Samantha, Nicole, Franklin; one great-grandnephew, Joevanni; many cousins in the Malden area.
Services are from the Breslin Funeral Home, 610 Pleasant St., Malden on Saturday, February 26th at 9:30AM followed by a Mass of Christian Burial celebrated at Immaculate Conception Church, 600 Pleasant St., Malden at 10:30 AM. Relatives and friends are invited to attend. Visiting hours will be held at the funeral home on Friday, February 25th from 4pm-8pm. Services on Saturday will conclude with interment in Holy Cross Cemetery in Malden. In lieu of flowers, donations in her memory may be made to the Friends of the Malden Public Library, 36 Salem St., Malden, MA 02148 or the Charitable Irish Society of Boston.

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Breslin Funeral Home
610 Pleasant Street
Malden, MA 02148
781-324-0486