Sister Mary Brian Kelly, RSM
Sister Mary Brian Kelly, RSM
Cedar Rapids
Sister Mary Brian Kelly, RSM, 92, died on April 25, 2023, at Sacred Heart Life Center in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, after a brief illness. Services will be held at 10:30 a.m. Saturday, April 29, at the Sacred Heart Chapel, by Rev. Greg Bahl. Burial will be at the Mount Calvary Cemetery in Cedar Rapids. Friends may call from 5 to 7 p.m. Friday, April 28, at Sacred Heart Chapel, with a wake service at 6:30 p.m. Arrangements are with Stewart Baxter Funeral & Memorial Services.
Sister Mary Brian was born on Sept. 10, 1930, in Elma, Iowa, the daughter of Earl and Vern Clark Kelly. She attended a country school in Elma, Iowa, and graduated from Immaculate Conception Academy, in Elma, Iowa, in 1949. She entered the Cedar Rapids Regional Community of the Sisters of Mercy of the Americas in 1956.
Sister Mary Brian graduated with a bachelor’s degree in history from Mt. Mercy College in Cedar Rapids, in 1971. Sister Mary Brian spent much of her ministry as an elementary school teacher at All Saints School in Cedar Rapids, Sacred Heart School in Oelwein, Iowa, St. Joseph’s School in DeWitt, Iowa, St. Matthew’s School in Kalispell, Mont., and St. John’s School in Clarion, Iowa. After teaching 21 years at St. Benedict’s School in Decorah, Iowa, she became a Pastoral Minister for nine years for St. Benedict’s parish, visiting the homebound and nursing homes.
In 2005, Sister Mary Brian moved to Sacred Heart Convent in Cedar Rapids, thinking that she was retired. She was recruited by a local priest to visit parishioners in nursing homes and area hospitals. She also volunteered at Hallmar Care Center at Mercy Medical Center.
In addition to the Sisters of Mercy, Sister Mary Brian is survived by numerous nieces, nephews, grandnieces and grandnephews.
She was preceded in death by her parents, Earl and Vern Clark Kelly; her four sisters, Joey Gardner, Janice Stolz, Marita Quinlan and Marissa Sullivan.
Memorials may be sent to the Sisters of Mercy at 1125 Prairie Dr. NE, Cedar Rapids, IA 52402.