Sr. Maureen Kelly F.S.P.

Sister Maureen Kelly, FSP, formerly known as Sr. John Agnes, was the second child of four born in New York City to John and Agnes Kelly. She was raised north of the George Washington Bridge often referred to as Innwood. There she attended Our Lady Queen of Martyrs Elementary School where she met the Franciscan Sisters. She attended Cathedral High School for girls located on Lexington Avenue in Manhattan. After graduating from high school in 1953, Maureen entered the Franciscan Missionary Sisters of the Sacred Heart in Peekskill, NY and professed her first vows in 1955. Sister Maureen pursued higher education at Ladycliff College in Highland Falls, NY graduating with a BA degree in History and English. Later, she studied at Hunter College in Manhattan where she earned an MA in History.

Sr. Maureen was one of 112 founding members of the Franciscan Sisters of Peace established in 1986.

Throughout her years of ministry, she taught in Philadelphia, New Jersey, and New York on the elementary level as well as the secondary level.

While ministering at St. Joseph’s High School in West New York, NJ, she served as the chairperson of the History Department. After completing studies at Seton Hall University in South Orange, NJ, where she received an MA in Student Personnel Services and Guidance, she served as Director of Guidance at both St. Joseph’s High School, West New York, NJ and St. Dominic’s Academy, Jersey City, NJ for thirty-six years. During these years she received special recognition as “Counselor of the County” for her dedicated service to students, parents, educators and the community as well as for promoting the highest ideals of the school counseling profession. It was Sr. Maureen’s energy, joy, and generous spirit that were gifts to her students for so many years. In 2011 she retired from her ministry at St. Dominic’s Academy and served as Eucharistic Minister and Lector at St. Joseph’s Parish, Bogota, NJ. In early 2018, due to declining health, Sr. Maureen moved to Marian Woods in Hartsdale, a collaborative adult care facility for women religious from various communities. Since 2019, she has been a resident of St. Cabrini Nursing Home in Dobbs Ferry, NY. It was there that she befriended other residents and staff ministering in her own special way to all she encountered. Sr. Maureen is survived by her brother, John Kelly and her sister Eileen Giordan as well as many nieces and nephews and several grand nieces and nephews.

All services will be private due to the Coronavirus pandemic. A Mass of Resurrection will be celebrated when possible.

Interment will take place at St. Mary’s Cemetery, Yonkers, NY on Tuesday, July 14, 2020.