Remembering Kelly

Joanne's 1/2 sister, Kelly, died in her sleep last night (April 15) at St. Anthony's hospice in St. Louis. I think I met Kelly when she was about 10 years old when I was first dating Joanne in the early 1970s. Kelly was a much-loved, sweetheart of a person and we will miss her terribly. I think that I probably never saw her when she wasn't surrounded by loving people or her loving pets. That isn't to say that she was always sweetness and light...she was a Wolff, after all, and had the stubborn streak that is pretty easily identifiable.

She had a fractured relationship with her dad that went on much too long because they were both too stubborn to settle their differences. Milt was blustery and typically didn't give people much of a 2nd chance if he thought you screwed up. And Kelly was just as stubborn but took him at his word and and that pretty well ended their relationship. Neither one could bend enough to reestablish contact, although Kelly tried a few times and I know Milt still loved her underneath all of the bluster.

Kelly was married to John O'Leary for some time but he became sick and died leaving her a widow - but with a good pension. She met Ron at work and they lived as if they were married...she called him her fiance. The relationship was good for both of them and they had a number of happy years together...along with 3 dogs, 4 cats, 2 rabbits, a dozen fish and a half-dozen parakeets.

For someone as young as she was she had a lot of health problems. She had been fighting diabetes for some time and then in 2004 she had the first heart attack. She had other heart problems along the way but managed to stay upbeat and always went back to work. She truly enjoyed her job and the people she worked with. She became sick last fall with cervical cancer but because of her other health problems the doctors couldn't be as aggressive as they needed to be in treating it. The cancer spread uncharacteristically and by the time they had figured out what was happening it was too late.

Joie loved her dearly and they were also good friends. Jill says Kelly was her 'coolest' aunt. I didn't always understand her...the whole family is complicated...but she was a sweet and loving person to me from the very start. She was very encouraging to me after Joie died and seemed to lok up to me somewhat. She had been through her own time of grief and knew what I was going through. In the end, she was sort of an inspiration to me as she became sick and pretty well managed her going out the way she wanted to. I will miss her a great deal but she is now pain-free and where she needs to be.

God bless you sweetheart.