Nancy Kelly

NANCY S. KELLY nee Swearingen age 74, passed away February 2nd, 2012 in Cleveland, Ohio. Nancy was the beloved wife of Dennis H. Kelly of S. Euclid, Ohio. She was the dear mother of Stephen D. Kelly Julie of Burlington, MA and Katy K. Ptacek Jim of Lakewood, Ohio and the dear grandmother of Aurora and Nina Kelly, Erin Ptacek and Julie Fanara. Nancy was the sister of James Swearingen of Port Jefferson, NY. The family prefers that those who wish may make contributions in her name to The Greater Cleveland Chapter of The American Red Cross, Disaster Relief Fund, 3747 Euclid Ave. Cleveland, OH 44115 or to the Bell Choir or Altar Guild Funds of St. Paul's Episcopal Church, 2747 Fairmount Blvd., Cleveland Hts., OH 44106 where Funeral Services will be held Wednesday, February 8th at 2 PM. Entombment Lake View Cemetery Mausoleum. FRIENDS MAY CALL AT BROWN-FORWARD, 17022 CHAGRIN BLVD., SHAKER HTS., OHIO TUESDAY FEBRUARY 7TH FROM 6-8 PM. Nancy was born on November 4, 1937 in Circleville, Ohio. She was the daughter of Norma Dyer Swearingen and Henry Bedinger Swearingen. Nancy and her brother, James Strode Swearingen, grew up in Tiffin, Ohio. She graduated from Tiffin Columbian High School in 1955, where she sang in a girl's sextet and won many academic awards. Following in the footsteps of her mother, she graduated from Oberlin College in 1959, a tradition that continued when her son, Steve, graduated from Oberlin in 1989. Oberlin's great contributions to her life included her teaching degree and a number of lifelong friendships. Nancy continued her education, receiving her Master's Degree in Special Education from Columbia Teacher's College in New York City in 1960. She immediately put her degree to use by teaching physically handicapped children at Sunbeam School in Cleveland, Ohio. While teaching in Cleveland she met Dennis H. Kelly at a young adult church group called Guys & Gals. After a summer spent traveling in Europe, she married Dennis on December 30, 1961 and moved to Chicago where she taught at Spalding School for the physically handicapped. In 1967 their son Stephen D. Kelly was born. A year later the family moved to Shaker Heights, Ohio where they lived for the next 25 years. In 1970 their daughter Kathleen K. Ptacek nee Kelly was born. Nancy supplemented her role as a full time homemaker and mother with numerous activities. She was an avid tennis player and fitness enthusiast at the Cleveland Skating Club. Nancy was the Chair of the Education Committee for the Cotillion Society, which provided college scholarships. She was also a member of the Lecture Day Committee of The Association for Continuing Education. A lifelong Episcopalian, Nancy was long active at St. Paul's Episcopal Church in Cleveland Heights, Ohio. She was a founding member of the Hand Bell Choir and played with them for 25 years. Nancy served as Training Director and President of the Altar Guild, as well as a Chalice Minister. Nancy was an active member of the Play Reader's Group, which for many years has performed plays for each other with script in hand. Her most recent performance was as the Old Woman in the dramatic play Tennessee. A champion of special occasions, Nancy put great thought into the gifts she gave others. She was a punster extraordinaire and wrote poems to commemorate milestone occasions with titles such as Reflections of Light, November's Child, Old Man Kelly, Katy's Place, and Retirement. Since childhood, Nancy was a great lover of animals. She loved horses, cats and the deer that frequented her backyard. She was a faithful reader of Thoroughbred Times. Nancy also loved reading mystery novels and was a super solver of Sudoku and word puzzles. Nancy and Dennis loved traveling together. Highlights of their adventures included hiking trips in England, France, Italy and Switzerland as well as cruises to South America, the Mediterranean and Eastern Europe. They made frequent trips to explore New York City, Boston and Chicago to visit friends and family. Most recently her love of travel took her and Dennis to San Francisco and Alaska. Nancy was blessed with four grandchildren: Julie, Aurora, Erin and Nina. Nancy's life was lived with love for her family and friends. She will be greatly missed.


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