The Kelly Memorial Fund

As you may or may not know, our family lost a central piece on Saturday, January 4, 2014. Our loving daughter, wife, sister and friend, Kelly St. John, passed away unexpectedly at the age of 35. This is the most difficult thing our family has ever been through; never mind how difficult it has to be for her husband Mark. Kelly was amazing. She had more personality than anyone we have ever known. Kelly lived life to the fullest, and we have all learned from her successes and mistakes. She taught us how important it is to stay close to what you love, always be yourself, and to never make any apologies for living your life on your own terms. We can't begin to fathom the reasoning behind her death, but it has taught us some things. You can truly NEVER know when you're going to lose someone you love. Treat them with respect and love them through their faults. Appreciate time with family and friends and laugh often. Never be afraid to stand out, because people will remember you for it. And most importantly, hold those you love closely and leave no doubt in their minds how important they are. If anybody would like to read a bit more about Kelly or sign her guest book, you can view her obituary here.

We have set up an account under "The Kelly Memorial Fund" at Cape Cod 5 Bank for anyone willing to donate money for a memorial bench in Kelly's name in Orleans. You can go into any Cape Cod 5 branch to donate, or you can mail a check made out to "The Kelly Memorial Fund" to the bank. (Mailing details are included below). However, we have set up this GoFundMe page for those who would rather quickly and easily donate online; all funds raised on this site will go towards the same cause. The town of Orleans doesn't make getting a memorial bench easy to accomplish, but we are hoping to apply for the bench through the Orleans Conservation Trust. It may be a long shot, but we are trying to get the bench on Nauset Beach, where Kelly spent so many joyful days and nights. If not at Nauset, then there may be a few areas owned by the Conservation where we will be able to put a bench to honor Kelly's memory.

For those who would rather mail a check to Cape Cod 5, made out to "The Kelly Memorial Fund," the address is: Cape Cod 5, Harwich Commons, 129 Route 137, East Harwich, MA 02645. If anybody feels the need to call the bank to check on their donation, the East Harwich number is [phone redacted]. Erin Proctor was the kind financial services rep who helped us set up the memorial fund. Unless you choose to remain anonymous, (which you can specify on the check's memo line), we've asked the bank to save copies of the checks and all the names and addresses of donors for us to send thank-yous later on.

We have set $10,000 as our goal because if we are fortunate enough to get the bench through the Orleans Conservation Trust, we need to give an initial $5,000 donation to the Conservation itself. After that, the rest of the money we raise will go towards paying for the bench, maintenance, and perhaps a celebration after it is installed. Any excess money beyond that which is required for the bench will go towards other, smaller memorials in places where Kelly enjoyed her all-too-short life.

We really appreciate anything you're willing to donate and know that Kelly would too. Thank you all in advance.