Kelly Ann Rocheleau

Kelly was our niece and will be greatly missed! She was the light in our family and always made time for others no matter how busy she might be. Our hearts are filled with so much pain but we know she is still here with us. We love you Kelly.

Our hearts and thoughts are with you in prayer

Kelly Ann— Two words come to mind when I think about Kel. Loyalty and Passion. Both of these traits from the heart, and for Kelly, they were always part of who she was. When I became part of Kelly’s life, she was almost a teen. She loved her dad, and she decided from the beginning that she didn’t care too much for me as a step-parent. Fortunately, that changed. Kelly lived with her mom and I for many years as an adult, and I was able to see her loyalty first-hand, whether to her family, her friends, her work, her marriage to Rock, and to her daughter Rylee. The other word that I think really defines Kelly is passion. From playing volleyball as a teen, her battles with Kem over who would use more hair spray or what boys to have a crush on, to having a Camaro for her first car (scared me to death) to the proper way to cut brisket at Buck’s barbecue, I knew early on that Kelly was a passionate person. She would tell you exactly what she thought. She made her bedroom look like a magenta nightmare. People tell me they had never seen carpet that color, but it was her color. Her passion for all things Kokopelli. Kel loved to travel and go see the world. She loved Cirque du Soleil. She loved her dogs. Finally, she found the love of her life, Rock. They were inseparable, and she had her partner for life. He completed her in so many ways. He knew how to let her keep spreading her wings, while keeping her grounded. Then came Rylee. Beautiful Rylee. Their princess. When Rylee was diagnosed with autism, she became a fierce advocate for her daughter and for others with autism. Shortly after Rylee was diagnosed, she had me make a slide show to share with her uncles and aunts to educate them about autism. Kelly let nothing come before her daughter. Never. Kelly and Rylee faced many health issues over the years, but she always took them on. In her later life, when Kelly was diagnosed with Leukemia, everyone was so worried, but Kelly bravely fought it head on. She was in pain and dealt with side effects of her treatment, but her passion for life and her family carried her through. In their home, there is a sign over the master bedroom that says “God doesn’t give us what we can handle, he helps us handle what we are given”. Somehow Kelly’s passion and her faith helped her through all the things to handle, and she handled them all. Maybe not with dignity and grace, but always with passion. It seems so ironic to me that with all of the health obstacles she faced that it was her heart that gave out. Her heart that made her fiercely loyal and passionate her whole life and helped define the person she was. I don’t know if Kelly knew that her days on this earth would be less than what those around her would have wanted; Joyce’s parents always said that God knew the day you were born and the day you would die. but Kel always lived her life the way Tim McGraw suggested… She went sky diving, Rocky mountain climbing, She went 2.7 seconds on a bull named Fu-Man-Chu, and she loved deeper, and she spoke sweeter, And she watched an eagle as it was flying… Love you Kel. Yellow shirt/gray shorts.

I think about you every day sister. Such a “one of a kind” type of person. You are missed everyday by so many people. The way you we’re always sympathetic but knew exactly when to say the right things. Thank you for being a great big sister to me. I love you