Sister Barbara Kelly, SC, (Sister Barbara Marie), a Sister of Charity-Halifax for 76 years, died at Elizabeth Seton Residence, Wellesley, Massachusetts, on March 24, at the age of 95.

Sister Barbara was born in Dorchester, Massachusetts. Her primary ministry was education, but her many and varied gifts led her to embrace other pathways as well. She taught several elementary grades at Saint Nicholas of Tolentine School in Jamaica, Queens, from 1950- 1961.

She moved from there to Holy Savior School in Westmont, New Jersey, then to Sacred Heart School in Riverton, New Jersey.

Having earned a master’s degree in Spanish, Barbara returned to Boston and taught Spanish, English, and religious studies at the Academy of the Assumption in Wellesley and Monsignor Ryan Memorial High School in Dorchester.

Then pursuing studies in the secretarial and finance field, Sister Barbara served at St. Patrick High School, Roxbury, as secretary and vice principal. She then worked in the Payroll and

Records Bureau at the Massachusetts State House, as an administrative assistant at the Carney Hospital and the Forsyth Dental School, and as treasurer for the Jesuit Community at Weston College in Cambridge.

Sister Barbara’s last mission was at Holy Name Parish and School in West Roxbury.

She brought her joyful presence to Marillac Residence in 2006 and later, to Elizabeth Seton Residence, said her fellow Sisters of Charity.

She is survived by an extended family of cousins, nieces, and nephews, as well as her sisters in community.

One of Sister Barbara’s nephews, Eugene G. Kelly, praised his aunt as “a wonderful woman who devoted her life to service to the disadvantaged. (As) a teacher, she touched many lives and inspired her pupils. I will always remember her as a very cheerful and devoted servant of the Lord.”

The Mass of Christian Burial was celebrated on April 5, 2024, at Mount Saint Vincent, Wellesley. Interment was at Saint Mary Cemetery, Needham.