Colleen Laurie Kelley

Our beloved Colleen-mother, grandmother, graphic artist, master gardener, animal lover, and prolific craftswoman-passed away on Thursday, March 28, 2024. She died peacefully in her home, surrounded by loved ones. While we take comfort knowing she was ready for her promotion to the garden in the sky, she is and will be profoundly missed.

Colleen was born on January 29, 1935 in San Jose to Delores Buettner and Keith Kelley. She grew up through the depression and was made fatherless when Keith tragically died in World War II. He was the first San Jose Police officer to die in the war; because of this, in 1944 the police department founded the Keith Kelley Club in his honor as a charitable organization to help fellow officers in need. This honor did not lessen the impact of his absence on her, but from that tragedy she grew into a woman of incredible strength and fierce independence.

A graduate of Willow Glen High School, she went on to raise four rambunctious children in Morgan Hill and San Jose with Vincent William (Bill) Walint Jr. After their divorce, she furthered her education at Foothill Community College, and she combined necessity and passion to build a career in graphic design. She also spent time restoring Victorian clothing and designing original costumes for the San Jose Historical Museum. Additionally, after completing extensive training through University of California Agriculture and Natural Resources, Colleen became certified as a UC Master Gardener, and she volunteered a significant number of hours to her community as a member of this prestigious program.

In her retirement, she turned her imagination toward a seemingly endless variety of arts and handicrafts. She was known as a woman of few words, yet she generously expressed and shared herself with the world through sewing, painting, ceramics, doll making, gardening, gourd carvings, and knitting, to name a few. For decades, she maintained beautiful and productive flower, fruit, and vegetable gardens both at her home and at local community gardens. Anyone who knew Colleen was blessed by her creations in one way or another, be it a nourishing meal that came from her own harvests or a pair of crocheted hand warmers to carry them through winter. Colleen also patiently listened to her loved ones, carefully offered her hard-earned advice, encouraged them to develop their own creativity, and supported them in their business ventures. Her home was a welcoming one that served as an anchor point for her entire family.

She is survived by her four children-Terri, Christopher, Kimberly, and Stacy; her eight grandchildren-Kirsten, Rachel, Casey, Renée, David, Sandy, Alia, and William; her nine great-grandchildren-Abbie, Kairei, Lorelei, Elaina, Philip, Elliott, Connor, Henry, and Miriam; her enduring chicken, Henny Penny, and her faithful pup, Jake.