Obituary of Mary Kelch

Mary Kelch (Marion) born to parents William Albert, Sr. and Adabelle Hebler on April 24, 1923  passed away peacefully at home on November 19, 2018 surrounded by her family. 

Marion was married to Edward J. Kelch, Sr. on August 16th, 1942 for over 50 years who predeceased her on February 20, 1996.  Marion had two brothers, William Albert Jr. and George Albert, along with one sister Grace Gorman who all predeceased her.

She is survived by three children, Carol Ann Albers,(husband Duane deceased) from Palmetto, Florida,  Edward J. Kelch, Jr.(wife Elinor) from Malta, NY and Sharon Ziehm (husband Douglas) from Schenectady.  She is also survived by six grandchildren, Timothy Albers, Jonathan Albers, Shaun Kelch, Jacqueline Kelch, Jason Forgue and Jennifer Forgue.  She is also survived by three great grandchildren Heidi Albers, Alexandra Albers and Jakob Albers.

She graduated from Scotia Glenville High School and had taken a business course and was employed by General Electric in Schenectady as a Secretary and then went on to work for Dr. Tischler in Schenectady.  She then went on to become a licensed realtor for 25 years.  Her father was a real estate broker and she really enoyed this career and did very well in Real Estate.

Her biggest love in life was being with her family and especially her grandchildren.  She spent her summers at Saratoga Lake where she and her husband owned a summer home.  This and her family made her the happiest.  She and her husband spent their entire summers at the Lake for many years with the rest of the family gathering on weekends and as often as they could.  Her daughter Carol and husband Duane, who was a pastor, along with their children Tim and Jon came to the Lake every summer for two weeks for many years until Duane's passing.  She also enjoyed spending time at the lake with special friends that were like family to her Cathy and Paul Rohling and their family plus many other wonderful neighbors.

She also had joined Glenville Senior Center after her husband Ed passed away,  and was proud to be a volunteer for many years.  She met many new friends and enjoyed attending every day until two years ago when she broke her hip.  Her daughter became her caretaker and continued to take her to the center once a week, where she had a close group of friends she enjoyed playing bingo with and having lunch with.   Her son and daughter in law also helped her very much, coming down at least once a week to have dinner with her, which she enjoyed very much.  Also, her grandchildren came over to see their grandmother whenever they could and had dinners and lunches with her.  She also enjoyed doing puzzles, which were always set up in her house for all to enjoy.

She was very involved in her church, along with her family during her younger years, Our Redeemer Lutheran Church in Scotia.  She and her husband, Ed, then joined Zion Lutheran Church in Schenectady along with her family.  The church was very important to her and her family throughout her life and she liked Pastor Wildgrube and his wife Jean and their family very much.  After Pastor Wildgrube passed away, Pastor Dugan became the Senior Pastor and she became very close to him and thought of him like a son.  He came to her house monthly to give her communion and spend time with her.  She appreciated this very much and the family thanks him for this.

She had a long and happy life, living for the most part independently except for her daughter coming over in the mornings to help with housework and caring for her until the age of 95.  She was proud to be 95 and in good health for the most part.  Until just recently she needed 24 hour care, which was provided by her daughter, daughter-in-law, a private nurse and home health aides.  Her family wanted to take care of her at home where she would be most happy and she wanted to remain at home.   Her family is missing her very much at this time.  She is now with her family in heaven along with God and her husband whom she has missed for 22 years since his passing.

The family would like to thank Pastor Dugan and Pastor Adam (St. Paul's Lutheran Church - Saratoga Springs) ,as well as: nurse Kim, home health aides Christina, Derrica and Cori. Their help was greatly appreciated near the end of her life.  Her daughter Sharon, daughter-in-law Ellie and son Edward would not have been able to keep their mother at home without their help.

Services will be private, per her wishes with family only, through Glenville Funeral Home with internment at Memory's Garden Mausoleum in Colonie.  She will join her husband on December 1, 2018 to continue living with God and their families who have left this world.

Contributions can be made to Zion Lutheran Church in Schenectady,  St. Pauls Lutheran Church Saratoga Springs or the charity of your choice in her name.