Helen Belva Kelley

GARDNER - Helen Belva (Cobb) (Sand) Kelley, 101 years old, died in her own home on Monday, December 27, 2010. Helen was born in Portland, Maine, on April 16, 1909, the daughter of Benjamin and Florence (Sweetman) Cobb. She was a resident of Gardner for eighty-four years and worked as an LPN at the former East Gardner State Mental Institution for forty-five years. Helen had a strong spirit and zest for life that gave her the strength to be her own person. She often dazzled her friends and family with her wit and amazing memory. She would frequently recite lengthy poems from memory much to the delight of any listener that she chose to entertain. Helen was a kind, generous and compassionate person who valued family and friends above all else. She was loved and admired by all who knew her and she will be dearly missed by all those who loved her. She leaves her sister, Patricia Puzzo of New Smyrna Beach, Florida; a brother, Robert Cobb of Agawam; her godson, Jeffrey Mitchell and his wife Pattie of Westminster; and many nieces and nephews. Helen was predeceased by her husband, Ralph Kelley, in 1992; also by her first husband, Kuno Sand, in 1941; by three sisters, Olive Warman, Ione Brill, Marjorie Cloutier; and by two brothers, Col. Nathaniel Cobb and Kenneth Cobb. Funeral services will be held Monday, January 3, 2011 at 11:00 a.m. in the Mack Funeral Home, 91 Vernon St., Gardner. Burial will follow in St. John's Cemetery, Gardner. Calling hours will be held at the funeral home on Monday from 9:00 a.m. until the time of the service. In lieu of flowers, the family suggests that memorial contributions be made in her memory to Gardner Visiting Nursing Association, 34 Pearly Lane, Gardner, MA 01440. $(document).ready(function(){ });