Mary Donahue Kelehan

Mary Kelehan was born June 3, 1915, in Mobile Alabama, the second of seven children of Lucile (King) and James Donahue. The Donahue family moved to St. Louis and then to Washington, D.C. , where she met husband, James Lawrence Kelehan, and was married on January 3, 1941.

A graduate of Harris Teachers College in Missouri, she later taught secretarial school in Washington, and also worked as a secretary in the office of the Secretary of the Navy before becoming a full-time homemaker.

Mary and her husband relocated several times for business, living in Michigan, New York, Ohio, and Connecticut before retiring and moving to Bradenton, FL. They enjoyed traveling internationally, often playing golf, and loved to take long car trips visiting their families around the country. Mary moved to Freedom Village in 1998.

¬Mary will be remembered by her friends and acquaintances for her unusual gentleness and kindness. She had a gift for letting other people know that she welcomed, enjoyed, and valued their company. In recent years, she delighted in her great-grandchildren and in news of her growing extended family, as her nieces and nephews became parents and grandparents.

A devout Catholic, Mary was always an active member of her parish, and was proud to serve as a Eucharistic Minister for Our Lady Queen of Martyrs church.

Mary is survived by: her sister, Dorothy, of Anchorage, AK; her sister-in-law, Jeanne, of Catonsville, MD; her daughter, Catherine Reinis and her husband Fredric, of Rhinebeck, NY; her daughter-in-law, Margaret, of Hancock, ME and her sons, Mark and Jeffrey Freiser; her granddaughter, Jessica Lister and her husband Scott, of Farmington, CT, and their children, Katherine and Edward; and by many cherished nieces and nephews and their children and grandchildren from both the Donahue and Kelehan families.

She was predeceased by her husband, James; her son, Paul and five infant children; by her brothers William and James Leo, and by her sisters, Lucile, Margaret, and Helen.

A graveside burial service will be held at Queen of Martyrs Church on June 3 at 8:30 a.m., followed by a memorial and celebration of her life at The Landings at Freedom Village also on June 3 at 3:00 p.m. A future celebration is planned in the Washington, D.C. area for her surviving family members.

Memorial donations may be made to Our Lady Queen of Martyrs Church, 833 Magellan Dr., Sarasota, FL 34243.

Guestbook: www.palmsrobartsfuneralhome.com