Son Says Mom 'Would Have Approved' of Her Unconventional Obit, and Friends Say She'd Be 'Delighted' It Went Viral

Mar. 15, 2025

Jennifer “Jennie” Ann Kelly.Photo:Courtesy Sean Kelly

Courtesy Sean Kelly

Jennifer Ann Kelly would have appreciated herunconventional obituary, one of her sons tells PEOPLE.

Sean Kelly and his brother Chris wrote the obituary, which ran in theSydney Morning Heraldon Saturday, Nov. 2. The notice honored their “wild and wayward mother,” who was known to loved ones as Jennie and was 88 when she died on Monday, Oct. 28.

“Mum grew great dope, never wanted to leave a party and gave up champagne or gin frequently, but never simultaneously,” read one particularly memorable line, while her sons quipped at another point that her “rare attempts at ‘responsible’ parenting or grandparenting were always touching.”

In addition to commenting on her feelings about spirituality — her sons wrote “she believed that exposing youth to religion was a form of child abuse" — the obituary stated that growing up, “It was impossible to watch the news in her presence due to her vocal outrage at the way the country is wrong.”

However, he adds that her friends “tell me that she would have been delighted at all the attention.”

Jennie Kelly’s obituary.The Sydney Morning Herald

The Sydney Morning Herald

In addition to causing a stir down under, the humorous tribute, which cheekily suggested mourners “bring a shovel,” made its way all across the world.

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Sean tells PEOPLE that his mom “was fiercely loyal to her sons and we all got along very well, although most of our neighbours became very fed up with all the music and activity emanating from our house.”

“Myschool friend’s parents would say things like ‘we must meet your parents sometime’ but I tried to prevent this as Mum’s behaviour and attitudes would likely have caused trouble,” he quips.

Ending on a serious note, Sean says that “mum would also have expected me to use all this attention to mention my latest venture,” a picture book he wrote calledRudder to the Rescue: Lost.

Sean adds that he made sure to “accelerate” the project “to ensure she had a copy before she died.”

source: people.com