Obituaries

Lourdes Marisa Kelly

Longtime Riverhead resident Lourdes Marisa Kelly, 45, died April 14 at Central Suffolk Hospital following a lengthy illness.

According to friends, two special events gave Ms. Kelly great happiness in the last two weeks of her life. Her daughter, Kim, moved forward her wedding ceremony to be married at her bedside at home. And a new proclamation by State Senator Kenneth LaValle and Assemblywoman Pat Acampora allowing New York State community colleges to grant honorary degrees enabled her to receive the first honorary associate's degree Phi Beta Kappa from Suffolk County Community College at Riverhead, where she was a student and elected secretary of the student government. Although illness had interrupted her education, the degree recognized her exemplary grades and her leadership and service in student affairs.

She was well known in Riverhead as official scorekeeper and statistician in the summer softball season at Stotzky Park, as reported in The News-Review last September, when Suffolk County Amateur Softball Association held a tournament to benefit Ms. Kelly's experimental medical treatment.

She was a past president of Riverhead-Jamesport Homemakers club and an active member of St. John the Evangelist R.C. Church, where she taught religious education classes, sometimes two classes a week, for 20 years.

Ms. Kelly was born June 17, 1953 in New York City to George and Laura (Chico) Nieves. She was raised in the Rocky Point and Miller Place communities and graduated from Port Jefferson Schools. She moved to Riverhead upon marrying Patrick Kelly 25 years ago this July.

He said of his wife, "Anything she was involved with, or cared about, she gave 110 percent. She had a lot of courage, a lot of energy and a lot of love."

Besides her husband, she is survived by her children, Kimberly Wilkinson and Jennifer and Michael Kelly, all of Riverhead; her parents, George Nieves of Middle Island and Laura Nieves of Coram; and a brother, George Nieves of Georgia.

The family received friends April 15 and 16 at DeFriest Funeral Home, Mattituck, where parish prayer services were offered by Deacon Bob Dejewski. The Celebration of the Liturgy of Christian Burial was offered by the Rev. Thomas Coby April 17 at St. John the Evangelist Church, followed by interment at St. John's Cemetery.

Memorial contributions in her name may be made to Riverhead Volunteer Ambulance, P.O. Box 924, Riverhead, NY 11901, or East End Hospice, P.O. Box 1048, Westhampton Beach, NY 11978.