Lorene (Bartlett) Kelley

Lorene Kelley, former resident of Dearborn, MI, died July 24, 2016, at North East Hospital in Concord, NC, near her Charlotte, NC, home. Born December 12, 1929, in Sheridan, NY, she was the daughter of Nelson Bartlett and Lillian (Wills) Bartlett.

Lorene graduated in 1947 from Dunkirk High School and attended State University of New York (Fredonia). She graduated from Duke University School of Nursing in 1951. She was a member of Sigma Theta Tau Nursing Honorary Society. She returned to school at Henry Ford Community College for a refresher course in Nursing and was registered in Michigan after her youngest child was in junior high school.

Although she did not return to the workplace, her nursing abilities were necessary to care for her husband in his battle with Multiple Sclerosis. She was his caretaker 24/7.

While attending Duke, she met Kenneth Charles Kelley Jr, and they were married July 21, 1951, at the Church of the Immaculate Conception in Durham, NC. Ken pre-deceased Lorene on their 54th wedding anniversary - July 21, 2005.

As a mother of seven children, Lorene was very involved in all their activities, such as den mother for Boy Scouts, cookies chairman for Girl Scouts, newsletter editor for middle school parents’ organization, and many other related jobs.

For more than 40 years, she enjoyed the friendships at Sacred Heart (Dearborn, MI) Catholic Church and was a lifetime member of the Women’s Tabernacle Society there. She served as a Eucharistic Minister at Sacred Heart and her sewing hobby provided the Baptismal garments (infant bibs) for the Sacrament of Baptism there. At her death, she was a member of St. Thomas Aquinas Church in Charlotte, NC.

She is survived by seven children, seven grandchildren and eight great grandchildren: 

Daughters-Carol (George) Harvilla of Dearborn, MI, Margaret Chawlcraft of Rock Hill, SC, Liz Kelley of Greenville, SC, Ruth Marie (Terry) of Baltimore, MD; and sons Kenneth (Rose) of Palm Springs, CA, Thomas of Charlotte, NC, and Michael (April) of Fort Worth, TX. 

Grandchildren are Jennifer (Eric) Boehm and Megan (Dan Boehm) Kelley of Palm Springs, CA, Larry Harvilla of Hickory Hills, IL, Kelley (Brian Camire) Harvilla, Los Angeles, CA, Dan (Marianne) Chawlcraft of Homer, MI, John Kelley and Scott Kelley of Fort Worth, TX; and granddaughter-in-law Georgia Griffiths of Acworth, GA. 

Great-grandchildren are Allyson, Katelyn and Jaxson Boehm of Palm Springs, CA, Ayden and Kamerynn Kelley of Acworth, GA, and Lilly Ambler, Daniel and Michael Chawlcraft of Homer, MI. 

Also surviving are two sisters, Nelda (Ron) Gostomski of Forestville, NY, and Geraldine Bartlett of Cedar Park, TX; and sister-in-law Gloria Kelley of New Smyrna Beach, FL. She was pre-deceased by son-in-law Jay Chawlcraft, daughter-in-law Mary Kelley and grandson Kenneth Kelley IV. 

A Mass of Resurrection is at 10 am on July 30 at St Thomas Aquinas in Charlotte, and inurnment will be at the columbarium at St. Thomas Aquinas. Memorials may be made to the American Heart Association, (www.heart.org) or PBS affiliate UNC-TV (www.unctv.org).

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