Barbara Kelly by Jackie Coll

Heaven gained an angel…. That’s what people are saying. They are saying how wonderful Barbara Kelly was.  They are saying that she would welcome anyone into her home and she would make sure they left full, felt welcomed and had a good time.  They are saying how she was the first person that made them feel welcome in the Borough of Conshohocken.  They are saying how incredible she was and she was.  They are saying how she was selfless, kind and caring. She was everything that everyone was saying and so much more.  She was beautiful, she had a smile that could light up any room and a giggle that was contagious.  

Barbara married her High School Sweetheart and it was a love story for the ages.  The kind of marriage that everyone hopes they have one day. Barbara and Bill had two sons, Billy & Danny.  Billy and I are the same age and I’m not sure how old I was when I met Barbara but I don’t remember a time that I didn’t know her.  She would pick me and her boys up from ccd at St. Matts, she was at the bottom of the hill cheering me on in the Soap Box Derby, she was the most incredible friend.  In high school (somewhere between 1991 and 1995) Barbara and I worked together at Leonard’s Sports Deli (located at the corner of 6^th& Maple). She taught me how to make the perfect cheesesteak, hoagie and she even let me help make her incredible rice pudding (25 years later, I still haven’t had a rice pudding as good as hers). We would laugh for hours and then laugh some more while we worked.

She was taken from us far too soon and my heart hurts.  Sending lots of love to Bill, Billy & Michele, Danny & Katie and her grands, Daniel and Anna Rose.  She was so incredibly proud of all of you.  

Full obituary as shared by William A. Moore Funeral Home:

Obituary for Barbara Ann Kelly

Barbara Ann (Benyo) Kelly, age 66 of Conshohocken, died on Monday, June 3, 2019 surrounded by her immediate family. She was born in Philadelphia on May 8, 1953 daughter of the late Joseph and Helen (Olinick) Benyo. She was the beloved wife of William J. Kelly Jr. for 45 years.

Barbara graduated Plymouth Whitemarsh High School Class of 1971 and also Montgomery County Vocational Technical School of Cosmetology. She married the love of her life and high school sweetheart, William J. Kelly Jr. in 1974. Together they set up their homestead in Conshohocken, raised their 2 boys, and wrote a love story that rivals the best novels. She started out as a hairdresser for Hair Express in Whitemarsh, then went to R.A. Picard in Conshohocken; was an office manager for Omni Mechanical in Gilbertsville; and was currently an accounts receivable specialist for Northwestern Human Services (Merakey) in Lafayette Hill. She was getting ready to retire to spend time with her grand kids, but Jesus called her home. It is of great fortune for those who knew her because she was a selfless, full of life woman; who would bring anyone into her home making sure you had a good meal and left with a smile on your face. The breath that she fought for is now wind always at her back. 

This beautiful woman is survived by: 2 sons, William J. Kelly III “Billy” (Michaele Schaeffer) of Conshohocken, Daniel M. Kelly Sr. “Danny” (Katie) of Skippack; a grandson, Daniel M. Kelly Jr.; a granddaughter, Anna Rose Kelly; 4 sisters Jennie Sauer (Jim), Elsie Kirkwood (Jim), Reba Major Buck, and Virginia Connors.

Relatives and friends may pay respects on Friday evening, June 7th, from 5:30-8pm or on Saturday morning, June 8th, from 8:30-10am at the William A. Moore Funeral Home, 708 Fayette St., Conshohocken. A funeral mass will commence at 10:30am in St. Matthew RC Church, 3rd Ave. & Fayette St., Conshohocken. Internment, St. Matthew Cemetery in Conshohocken.

In lieu of flowers, donations in her memory may be made to St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital at www.stjude.org or (800) 805-5856 .

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