Lucinda M Kelly

Kelly, Lucinda M.

Born on September 1, 1948, in St. Cloud and passed away May 2, 2023, at age 74 due to kidney failure after a brief illness.  

Lucinda spent her childhood in Minneapolis and Buffalo. The family moved to Prospect Park near the U of M when she was about 10.  She graduated from Marshall University High School in 1966. She went on to obtain her teaching degree from Colorado College. During her years there, she embraced the hockey scene and this became her social circle. Colorado College is also where she met her lifelong friend Susie Cogswell. After college, she returned to MN and taught in the Minneapolis school district from 1970 to 2001. She worked with exceptional students and also spent many years teaching Kindergarten. 

In her retirement, she enjoyed genealogy and created detailed scrapbooks of her Bohemian and Irish roots. Her love for teaching continued as she shared her talent and knowledge of genealogy with cousins from both sides, working side by side, visiting cemeteries, historical societies, libraries, etc to help them create their own family trees. In 2016, she celebrated 50 years of friendship with Susie Cogswell by embarking on a road trip through Wisconsin and Michigan to trace Susie’s family. Her knowledge was far reaching and she shared so much with so many. This was a special gift. 

Her beautiful scrapbooks were only one side of her creativity. She was an expert seamstress, creating dresses and baby quilts for little ones. She used her scrapbooking skills to begin a tradition of handmade cards for family and friends for every holiday and birthday. One of the first clues that Lucinda was not feeling well was the missed Valentine’s Day cards this past February.

She had a colorful flower garden in her yard and enjoyed creating that garden.  As her mobility became more challenging, she found unique ways to be able to continue to spend time in her garden. She had a knack for coming up with useful ideas to help her remain independent. After double hip surgery in 2018, she used her ingenuity to come up with many household tricks to allow her to remain at home after she said “enough” to rehab and checked herself out. 

In later years, her parents were involved with the American Kennel Club and showed dachshunds. While Lucinda never owned a dog, she had an affinity for them and enjoyed all furry four legged friends. She especially enjoyed the visits at hospice by Huey and Louie and seeing video clips and pictures of all the other furry friends!

During her last couple of months in the hospital and hospice, when asked what her life’s motto was, she replied “fiercely independent, and generally pissed.” She remained fiercely independent to the very end. During the months at hospice, she was surrounded by friends and family, and well taken care of by the staff at JA Wedum. She was loved by so many and admired for her determination. 

Lucinda was preceded in death by parents Robert and June Vorachek Kelly. She is survived by her sister Sarah. 

Private interment at St. Timothy's Cemetery, Maple Lake followed by a celebration this summer in Maple Lake.

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