May Kelly, 83, of Endwell, passed away peacefully from complications of Parkinson’s disease on Wednesday, January 15, 2014 at the Good Shepherd Nursing Home. Born Maya Mary Kubichek on May 23, 1930 in Irvington, NJ, May grew up in Maplewood, NJ, and was the loving daughter of the late Mary and Albert Kubichek. She was a 1948 graduate of Columbia High School in Maplewood. Upon graduating from Berkeley Secretarial School, she was first employed with her father’s construction firm, Eastern Building and Construction in Newark, NJ. She later worked as a school secretary for the Union Township Public School District in Union, NJ for over 25 years. May loved the arts and at the age of 8, she began her studies in modern dance with her teacher, Kathleen Hinni, a disciple of the Isadora Duncan School of Dance, and a dancer and choreographer. In consecutive summers she was a scholarship student at Hinni’s School of Creative Arts in Cobbs Mill,Weston, CT and in Martha’s Vineyard, MA. It was there that she further pursued her dancing in addition to taking classes in music, poetry, dramatics, and drawing. May danced professionally with Kathleen Hinni’s troupe from 1948-1949. Surviving is her husband of 63 years, John L. “Jack” Kelly, Jr. May and Jack were “famously” married on the popular CBS television show, Bride and Groom in New York City on April 23, 1951, which was broadcast nationally. They lived in Union for 15 years, and then resided in Cedar Grove, NJ from 1966 to 2005. Also surviving May are her two daughters and their spouses, Dona Lee Kelly and John Denninger of Binghamton and NYC; Dori May and Michael Ganisin of Binghamton; and her grandson, Sean Denninger of Binghamton. She was predeceased by her only sister, Elsie Leite of Springfield, NJ.
A memorial service gathering family and friends to celebrate May’s life will be held on Saturday, March 1, 2014 at 1 pm at the Allen Memorial Home, 511-513 East Main Street, Endicott. Memorial contributions in memory of May Kelly may be directed to The Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson’s Research, National Parkinson Foundation, or an organization of your choice.