Obituary of Marion Kelley Nudd

Marion Kelley Nudd, 93, of Melbourne died January 3, 2012. Born on Armistice Day, November 11, 1918 in Chicago, Illinois, she was the second child of Robert Emmet Kelley and Anna Nordsiek. Marion Nudd was a lifelong avid reader and her love of language showed in everything she did - she loved working crosswords puzzles, playing grandchild-crushing games of "Words With Friends" on her I Pad, and writing short, funny skits that she and her friends at the Fountains and Crane Creek would perform for talent nights. She shared her passion for language teaching children the joys of reading as a tutor in elementary and high schools in Illinois and Florida. Marion was a calm, warm and determined woman. When her youngest child enrolled in college, Marion did the same, telling one of her grandchildren, "It was just something I always wanted to do." Marion was a natural born leader. In her later years, she and her close companion, George Keller, started Gentleman Jim's Cocktail Hour at The Fountains and then later the Crane Creek Coffee & Doughnut Breakfast Gathering. Marion also liked to have fun -- she played Scrabble at Senior One and attended book club at Indian River Colony Club—and there wasn't a game or activity that she ever shied away from including jump-roping and wicked games of table tennis. And she kept that sense of fun over the long years of her life. As one of her grandson's observed, "How many grandmas in their 80s run around the house spraying silly string in celebration of a birthday?" As a young mother, Marion's home was clean but messy, because it was filled with family, laughter, friends, good meals, chaos, dogs, fish tanks, music, wet bathing suits, pool tables, Scrabble boards, bridge games and yes, a trampoline in the living room one winter. Life with Marion wasn't about a having cold, clean house but about having a warm loving home where everyone felt safe, welcomed and celebrated. Although a devout Catholic, Marion had deep respect for other religions and beliefs. Marion jotted down some notes concerning her own funeral service, and one line occurs in those notes again and again: "Love is how you live on after you are gone." It goes without saying, that she was deeply loved. She was preceded in death by her husband Hubert, her son Jim, and her brother, Robert and her daughter in laws Sue Martin Nudd and Donna Gray Nudd. She is survived by her dear friend, George Keller; her children Mike Nudd and wife Eileen; Tom Nudd and wife, Karen Wolf; Mary Ellen Nudd and husband Dave Kernwein, Kathleen Lawler and husband Cory Lawler; Donna Marie Nudd and partner Terry Galloway. She is also survived by former daughter-in law, Susan Nudd; grandchildren Greg and wife Lenore, Beth and husband Martin, Colleen and husband Aubrey, Drew and fiancé Jackie, Kelley and partner Rick Lanza, Bridget and fiancé Bryan, Kerry and partner Kristen Ramsey, Chris, Shane, Jim, Kathleen, Lauren and CJ; great grand-children Caitlin, Dylan, Erin, Jake, Fiona, Eve, Audrey, and Jack. The family will receive guests for a time of visitation on January 5th from 5:30-7:30, Thursday, January 5 at 8910 Tropical Trail, Merritt Island. A Catholic Mass will be held at 10 am on Friday, January 6th , St. John the Evangelist Catholic Church 5655 Stadium Parkway, in Viera FL. Donations may be made to Sisters of Providence of St. Mary-of-the-Woods, (1 Sisters of Providence, St. Mary-of-the-Woods, Indiana, 47876), Mercy Home for Boys and Girls (1140 West Jackson Blvd, Chicago, IL 60607), St. John the Evangelists Catholic Church (5655 Stadium Parkway, Viera FL 32940) , Operation Smile (6435 Tidewater Drive, Norfolk, VA 23509).