Obituary of Mary Kiely

August 30, 1930 – March 27, 2023 Mary Kiely was born in Montreal, Canada to the family of Thomas & Elizabeth Joyce on August 30, 1930. She was part of a growing family that would come to include her sisters Betty, Margaret, Patricia, Isabel,Agnes, and brothers Thomas, Jr. and James. Mary’s life was full of journeys. In October 1938, on the eve of WWII, the Joyce family settled in Glasgow, Scotland, where Tommy and Elizabeth found comfort with family and friends. As the war began, Hitler’s Luftwaffe bombers were attacking Scotland’sindustrial centers including Glasgow. To ensure their safety, Mary and her siblings were sent to Killiecrankie within the Scottish Highlands to stay out of harm’s way through the war’s duration. This was a trying time as her parents, like many adults at the time, were absent supporting the war effort in defense of the United Kingdom. Despite these hardships, including the death of one-year old baby Thomas, Mary fondly remembered growing up in Glasgow. She recalled music in the home, her parents singing, roller skating, local dances, working as a seamstress and visiting with her cousins, one family of which owned a sweet shoppe-icecream parlor. Seeking better opportunities, Mary followed in the footsteps of her older- sister Margaret, and emigrated to the United States via the HMS Queen Mary in 1955. She was a single-woman in her mid-twenties until she was introduced to a reserved young man, Francis (“Frank”) T. Kiely. After a brief courtship she was engaged and married at Blessed Sacrament Roman Catholic Church in Valley Stream on October 12, 1957.Mary and Frank settled into their life-long Cape Cod styled home on 14 Sprague Drive, Valley Stream, NY, and went right to work raising seven children: Patricia; Theresa; Mary; Eileen; AnnMarie; James and baby Michael. The Kiely house, was akin to the lyrics of British pop band Madness’s song “Our House”: “Our house it has a crowd There's always something happening And it's usually quite loud Our mum, she's so house-proud Nothing ever slows her down And a mess is not allowed.” 14 Sprague Drive turned out to be a great place to raise a family. The drive had other wonderful families such as the Bregmans, Edels, Feins, Lowes, Pellegrinos, Schuberts and Scottos, whose children were pals of the Kiely kids. Summers brewed with kickball, races, stickball, shouts laughter. Mary’s life included work as a seamstress, nanny, Solgar Vitamins employee, babysitter and mother; the latter being the hardest of all in supporting the material and emotional needs of seven independently-minded and eager for attention children. She loved her garden, could rake more leaves than a thousand landscapers combined and was unafraid of shoveling snow despite her children’s protests. An avid knitter, Mary had given away many baby blankets and booties she created to single mothers and was awarded for her efforts. She was also a long-time member of Blessed Sacrament Church’s Rosary Society. While the Kiely’s were not wealthy by any stretch, Mary and Frank’s hard work and devotion impressed upon their children the need to work equally hard at school, sports and employment to meet whatever defined their personal ambitions. All attended college and some hold advanced degrees and experience in accounting, journalism, law and nursing. As she got older, Mary experienced the joy of welcoming nine grandchildren including Joseph Edison, Dennis Edison, Claudia DeFilippo, Theresa DeFilippo, Michael Mola, Kate Kiely, Jack Kiely, Ava Kiely and Kara Kiely. Well into her late eighties she was a caregiver to Frank who passed away on January 16, 2020. In total they spent 64 years together. Prior to her passing she moved to Seaford, NY to stay withher daughter AnnMarie. In 1998, Mary donated a kidney to AnnMarie, ensuring her health. She was a true hero like her son, Michael, who did the same years later. She was very proud of this. Her surgeon couldn’t believe she was up and walking the day after surgery. That was Mary, full of fire, strength and passion, and as lithe as a panther. Our reserved nature came from our father, but any outspokenness that would serve us throughout our lives came from Mary. Mom, Mother, Mary, we will always love you. Thanks for you and Daddy’s sacrifices. Go now to heaven to meet Frank, Mickey and all of your departed loved ones. We’ll all join you eventually. Just don’t gettoo upset if we’re late. Rest in peace – Love always, Patricia, Theresa, Mary, Eileen, AnnMarie, Jimmy and Mickey and families.