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Jim Kelly, Licensed Funeral Director 1976-2021

We remember and honor the legacy of Jim Kelly who passed away June 1, 2021. Owner and operator of Kelly Funeral Home and Bereavement Center, Jim lived the motto, “when getting it right matters.” With commitment and grace, he personified the company mission to strive for perfection and earn the trust of those in need of funeral care. 

After graduating Burncoat Senior High School in 1973, Jim followed his passion of music and was accepted to Berklee College of Music in Boston. But after a serious discussion with his dad regarding their family commitment to serving the local community at their time of need, Jim immersed himself into his predestined vocation and attended New England Institute of Anatomy and Applied Arts and Sciences in Boston. After graduating funeral service school at the age of nineteen, Jim experienced first-hand the tragedy of grief with the untimely death of his father, Walter Kelly in 1975. 

With the help of family, colleagues and friends, Jim began his career in funeral service and proudly ran the Kelly Funeral Home the following forty-seven years. He was the third generation of funeral director in his family. His great aunt Mary Donahue of Ireland was the first woman embalmer in Massachusetts. She married B.J. Shaw and together they operated Shaw's Funeral Home in Webster. Another family cousin owned and operated Scanlon Funeral Home also in Webster. 

He was dedicated to the ministry of bereavement and hosted a local support group, Y.A.N.A. (You Are Not Alone) in his funeral home as well as hosting a weekly radio talk show. Jim was a member and past president of the former Greater Worcester Funeral Directors Association. He was also a longtime member of the Massachusetts Funeral Directors Association and served on its board of directors, the National Funeral Directors Association and the Cremation Association of North America. Jim, along with his family, have been longtime members and supporters of the 100 Club whose charter is provide benefits to surviving families of police officers and firefighters killed in the line of duty in Massachusetts. One of Jim's memorable affiliations was with Children's Friend, Inc. in Worcester. He served on their advisory board and trained as a volunteer and counselor at Children's Friend Carriage House, a grief support setting for children and their families. 

Citing Jim’s kind and compassionate ways, friend and fellow funeral director, Rick Mansfield summarized Jim in this way: 

 “Jimmy was passionate about his mission, about what funeral service should be and he was intensely involved in doing things right.  When you became a friend of Jimmy you became a lifetime friend. He was loyal, calling you on your birthday to sing to you. Jimmy never forgot an important event in someone else’s life.” 

For his many years of compassionate caregiving to the bereaved we honor the legacy

of Jim Kelly on this day dedicated to Funeral Directors. March 11, 2022