It is with great sorrow that we announce the passing of Elizabeth “Betty” Kelly of Wellfleet on June 28 at Cape Cod Hospital following a brief illness. She was the wife of John J. Kelly and the daughter of the late Harold and Aimee (Bethel) Wolf.
Well-known as a choral conductor, performer, and teacher on Cape Cod, Betty’s joy was to share her great love of music with everyone. She held Master’s and Bachelor’s Degrees in Music from Syracuse University and was a much-admired soloist both in New York and on Cape Cod.
Betty was a member of the adjunct faculty in the Music Department of Cape Cod Community College for nearly 30 years. During that time she was also the Music Director for several Cape churches, most recently The Osterville United Methodist Church.
Betty and John co-founded the Provincetown Choral Society, which was the first choral group on the Lower Cape. Incorporated as a not-for-profit corporation, their aim was to promote choral music on the Lower Cape and to foster an interest in and appreciation of music among school children. Over the years music scholarships were awarded to many deserving Lower Cape music students.
Betty was the “traveling” Music Teacher in the Provincetown and Truro School Systems during the 1970’s, and often involved her students (her “pumpkins and muffins”) in the Provincetown Choral Society’s concerts, including their Twelve Days of Christmas “growing” Christmas tree and St. Lucia.
Betty and John Kelly are recognized for creating The Academy of Performing Arts in Orleans. For many years they thrilled local audiences with productions of Broadway shows such as Man of LaMancha, The Boyfriend, The Fantasticks, The Merry Widow, and Ahmal and the Night Visitors, to name only a few, often filling some of the roles themselves - much to the delight of their audiences.
In addition to her husband John, Betty is survived by her sister Victoria Vallaincourt (Wolf), and their brother George Wolf, both of Buffalo, NY, now residing in Kokomo, IN, her nephew Charles Wolf of New York, NY and several other nieces and nephews.
Betty’s family and friends would like to thank the doctors and staff at Outer Cape Health and the Cape Cod Hospital EC, ICU and CVICU departments for their warmth and caring during this difficult time.
Betty Kelly was more than a teacher, or a music director, or the sum of the things she did. She was a nurturer, a musician extraordinaire. She was a treasured friend. Like the lilies that toil and turn to become radiant flowers, so too was Betty’s love, in giving her all, tending her garden of budding singers.
Our lives are better, fuller, and more vibrant for having known her.
A private Celebration of Betty’s Life will be held at a later date.
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