Theresa Ann Kelly

On May 20, 1949, Theresa Ann Kozlowski was born to Henry and Laura Kozlowski. She was the oldest of three wonderful girls born to Henry and Laura. She left home on October 23rd, 1971, when she married James E. Kelly. In 1979 she accomplished her lifelong dream of becoming a registered nurse by graduating with her nursing degree. Theresa was a very giving, fun-loving person who enjoyed life to the fullest and was as beautiful inside as she was on the outside. She always left quite an impression on anyone she met. She was a wonderful wife, sister, aunt and sister-in-law to her immediate family and always made people feel as part of her family. In October of 1996, Theresa became a widow and became a stronger woman than she ever thought possible and more giving than ever. In February of 2009, she gave up all her material possessions to live with her sister, Monica Meyer (husband Ted, children Amber and Ashley), and as most knew, Theresa had medical problems; when she was 40 years old, she was diagnosed with Parkinson’s Disease and in September 2008, she had both of her knees replaced with titanium and began the healing process from that surgery; In 2010, she had surgery on her cervical spine, which was causing her to fall and lose use of her upper body. After 4 weeks of rehabilitation at Sea Pines in Melbourne, she came home. Once home, she began 2 weeks of in-home physical and occupational therapy when her doctor decided to prescribe 4 to 6 more weeks of live-in rehabilitation, which was done at Island Rehabilitation on Merritt Island. While in rehabilitation, she began having problems with muscular control of her neck and keeping her eyes open. After many tests, she was diagnosed with Myasthenia Gravis, a form of Muscular Dystrophy. Through all the set backs though, Theresa never let life get her down. She always said she wanted to fill her days with happiness and laughter and positive people, leaving all the negative issues in life that were thrown at her aside. Theresa succeeded in doing so; until June 14th, 2010, the day she joined God, she took life and lived it to the fullest of her capability, and always pushed aside the negative and pushed forward with the most positive outlook possible.

Theresa is survived by her sister Susan (nmn) Schmidt, husband Alfred, nephew Aaron and sister Monica Marie Meyer, husband Ted, and nieces Ashley and Amber. She is also survived by many aunts and cousins. Theresa was preceded in death by her parents, Henry Thomas and Laura Augusta Kozlowski.

Donations may be made to the SPCA of North Brevard, 455 Cheney Highway, Titusville, FL 32780 or to the Parkinson’s Association.

“There is nothing the body suffers which the soul may not profit by.”

---George Meredith