Eileen H. Kelly (Memorial Preschool Scholarship Fund)

Eileen H. Kelley

Eileen H. Kelley, age 67, of Mentor for the past 41 years; formerly of Pittsburgh, Pa., died Thursday, April 23, 2009, at home after a courageous battle with cancer.

She was born Sept. 29, 1941, in Pittsburgh, Pa.




Eileen's smile was always greeting you whenever you stopped at her son, Jonathan's "J's Pizza Market" in Mentor. Prior to that she was a preschool teacher at Widening World Preschool in Mentor and worked at Casual Corner at the Great Lakes Mall in Mentor.

She was a graduate of Shaler High School Class of 1959, and a graduate of Allegheny College in Meadville, Pa., where she received her bachelor of arts in education. She was a former "May Queen" and member of Kappa Kappa Gamma Sorority at Allegheny College.

Eileen was the first volunteer for the Hospice of Western Reserve (Lake County Chapter); she volunteered for Meals-On-Wheels in Mentor. She was a member of Western Reserve Junior Service League and Mentor Heisley Racquet Club. She loved to garden.

Survivors are her husband of 45 years, David Kelley; son, Michael (Kim) Kelley of Westerville; daughter, Susan Kelley of North Miami Beach, Fla.; son, Jonathan (Molly) Kelley of Mentor; four grandchildren, Caroline, Amy and RoseMary Kelley and Tristan Escalante; and two sisters, Roberta "Bobbie" (Ronald) Heller Watson of Kirtland and Christine (James) Capitan of Mentor.

She was preceded in death by her father, Elwyn L. Heller M.D.; mother, Mary (Bertovich) Escovitz; and stepfather, David Escovitz.

A celebration of life service will be 11 a.m. Saturday May 23, 2009, at St. John Vianney Church 7575 Bellflower Road, Mentor. Internment will be in Western Reserve Memorial Gardens in Chester Township.

The family requests contributions to be made to Starting Point, c/o The Eileen Kelley Memorial Preschool Scholarship Fund, 2000 E. 9th St., Suite 1500, Cleveland, OH 44115.

Arrangements are entrusted to Brunner Funeral Home & Cremation Service in Mentor.

Online obituary at www.brunners.com.

This is the beautiful lady I posted about before.  The mother of my good friend Susan.  Although, you probably do not know her.  We did. 

I would like to take this moment to remember her.  Her legacy she is leaving behind.  She was an extrodinary human with a loving heart for children.  

Please take the time to read this letter from Eileen's husband.  If you would like to participate in helping a child's life, please join in on The Eileen Kelley Memorial Preschool Scholarship Fund.

Dear Family & Friends:

 

We have just finalized the arrangements for Eileen.  As we mentioned in our previous e-mail, her wishes were to be cremated and to have a celebration of her life at a later date.  We are in the process of carrying out her wishes.

 

The celebration of Eileen’s life will be held on Saturday, May 23, 2009 @ 11:00 a.m. @ St. John Vianney Church , 7575 Bellflower Road , Mentor , OH 44060 .  We would have liked to schedule the service sooner but the facilities were not available on the dates we preferred.

 

Many of you know that Eileen taught 3-year olds at Widening World Preschool for many years. Her passion was the children and to give them a positive start with their education.  Eileen did it with a genuine love and enthusiasm that endeared her to the children as well as their parents.  She was always concerned that there were children that had to drop out of the program because their families could not longer afford to pay the tuition.  We now have the opportunity to do something positive for those children and to perpetuate Eileen’s memory. 

 

We were very fortunate to partner with a local non profit organization, Starting Point (www.starting-point.org), to create The Eileen Kelley Memorial Preschool Scholarship Fund.  Several months ago, a group of our friends collected a generous sum of money and surprised us with the gift.  We were both very moved by the thought and generosity.  We are going to use this gift to seed the scholarship fund.  Should anyone wish to make a tax deductable contribution, it should be made to Starting Point and designated forThe Eileen Kelley Memorial Preschool Scholarship Fund and sent to:

 

Starting Point

TEKMPSF

2000 East 9^th Street, Suite 1500

Cleveland, OH 44115

 

We hope to keep Eileen’s memory alive by helping those children that would otherwise be denied the preschool experience. 

 

It has been a very long journey for us.  Your support, concern and love has made the journey easier for all of us left behind.   

 

Love, Dave & Family