Jeanne Lorraine Kelly

Jeanne Lorraine Kelly (nee Rolland) passed away on November 30, 2023, age 87, near her winter home in Rancho Mirage, California. She had been hospitalized since August after having suffered a cerebral stroke, from which she was not able to recover.

She was preceded in death by her husband, Robert William Kelly, whom she married December 27, 1954, and her two sons, Richard Kent Kelly, and Robert Aaron Kelly. She is survived by her son Randal Robert Kelly of Denver, Colorado, her grandchildren, Rory Randal Kelly of Sioux Falls, South Dakota, Jacob Rolland Kelly of Saint Louis Park, Minnesota, Jett Kwong Kelly of Los Angeles, California, and Grace Rain Kelly of Bismarck, North Dakota, and by her three great grandchildren, Jude Sparrow Kelly, Jai Berlin Kelly, and Gibson Arrow Kelly, of Sioux Falls, South Dakota.

A life-long resident of South Dakota, Jeanne was a homemaker, who completed her post-secondary education after having raised three sons. She attended Augustana College, where she obtained her Bachelor of Arts degree in 1985, and Hamlin University Law School, where she obtained her Juris Doctorate in 1988. After law school, Jeanne was admitted to the practice of law in South Dakota, and she was a member in good standing of the South Dakota State Bar.

Jeanne was an accomplished cook, decorator, and entertainer. She was an avid reader, and throughout the course of her life, Jeanne was a champion of the underprivileged, taking on several projects to help others, including pro bono legal work, and teaching remedial English to immigrant children.

A gathering will be held at the Mt. Hope Cemetery near Quinn, S.D. at 1:00 PM on Saturday, September 28, 2024, to inter the ashes of Jeanne Lorraine Kelly, mother, grandmother and great grandmother, with those of her husband, Robert William Kelly. Please join us for this memorial.

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