Alice E. MacDonald (Kelley), a resident of Chelmsford, passed away on Friday, November 30th, 2018 at Lowell General Hospital surrounded by her loving family. She was the beloved wife of the late Frederick E. MacDonald who passed away in 2009.
She was born and raised in Boston, MA on December 28, 1924 and was the youngest daughter of 12 children of the late Thomas Kelley and Ellen Veronica (McSheffrey) Kelley.
She met her husband in May 1945 on Mother’s Day when he was home on leave from the US Navy. They were married the following year on April 28, 1946 and lived in Medford for 18 years. She held several positions at local factories until her first child was born in 1950. About a year after her marriage, her widowed mother had an accident and came to live with Alice and Fred. Alice thoroughly enjoyed raising her son and four daughters and was a very loving wife, mother and caregiver. She liked to sew, crochet and knit. She spent summers at Cape Cod with her family at her brother John’s cottage. Her sisters Mil and Marie and her niece, Sissy, had cottages close by and she spent many happy times with them.
Alice and Fred moved their family to Tewksbury in 1968 and lived there happily for 25 years until Fred’s retirement. They moved to Ellenton, Florida in 1992 and spent 10 years there enjoying their golden years. They became known as “the walkers”. Alice enjoyed her exercise classes in the pool, craft activities, playing shuffleboard and going on bus trips. Fred and Alice missed their children and moved back to Massachusetts where they lived with their daughter, Marie in Methuen. After Alice was widowed, she moved to a lovely home on Heart’s Pond in Chelmsford with Marie, where she lived her remaining years spending time with family and pets. She particularly enjoyed playing Uno, watching quiz shows, looking out at the pond, visiting Fred’s grave and watching the birds at the feeder.
Alice will be deeply missed by her son, Fred MacDonald and his wife Elaine of Strafford, NH; four daughters, Patricia (Patty) Franklin and her husband, Jim of Pepperell, Marie MacDonald of Chelmsford, MA, Christine Rodenhiser and her husband, Alan of Methuen, and Carolyn MacDonald of Ellington, CT; 13 grandchildren;
Steven, Kevin, Jennifer, Jason, Jonathan, Joseph, Jesse, Brian, Scott, Kyle, Russell, Emily, and Daniel, 6 great-grandchildren and several nieces and nephews.
She was also sister of the late Catherine (Trina) Brennan, Marie Littig, Mildred (Mil) O’Neil, Dorothy (Dee) Riggs, Thomas, Joseph, John and Henry Kelley.
A Memorial Service will be held on Saturday, December 15th at 11 o'clock at Blake Chelmsford Funeral Home, 24 Worthen St., Chelmsford followed by interment in Heart Pond Cemetery, Chelmsford.
Memorial donations in Alice's name may be made to the Alzheimer's Association, P. O. Box 96011, Washington, DC 20090-6011.