PELLETIER-KELLY, PAULETTE December 4, 1943 – April 18, 2019 Paulette Pelletier-Kelly died peacefully at the Kensington Hospice, on April 18, 2019.
She was born in rural England during the Second World War. Her mother had been evacuated to the countryside to avoid the blitz but soon returned to London. “Better the bombs than the countryside,” she commented. Her father, Paul Pelletier, was a Sergeant in the Royal 22nd, the “Van Doos” and the couple met when he was billeted in London with the Selby family. After the war, they settled in Montreal. Their closest friends were couples like themselves, English war brides and French Canadian veterans.
Paulette grew up in Montreal. She married Jim Kelly and had three children. It was there that they began the practice of loading the kids in a van during their holidays and touring Canada and the United States, camping on the way. In 1967, right after Expo 67, they moved to Toronto for Jim’s work. Soon they bought a small house and land in the community of West Hill. In time, Paulette’s marriage ended and she went back to work. She was always interested in the arts. One of her first jobs was with the Canadian Opera Company, where she organized the President’s Council. She worked with Walter Pitman at the Ontario Arts Council and Walter became a mentor of hers. She studied part-time at the University of Toronto as well as managing a family and household as a single mother. With Walter’s encouragement, Paulette enrolled in the Arts Administration program at City University in London. This was a transformative experience for her. Not only did she broaden her education and make new friends, she traveled extensively in Europe and reconnected with her mother’s family, the Selbys. While there, she became the co-director of Arts Place Trust, a visual artists studio and residence in London.
Paulette came back to Canada in 1987 and soon was employed as the Executive Director of the Periodical Writers’ Association. There she met Bill Freeman, the writer and in 1991 she moved to Toronto Island to live with him. Over time, a blended family emerged with Paulette’s three children and Bill’s four children. The Island became her home where she participated in many social and political events. She loved the Island and its intense social life. While on the Island, Paulette worked with a number of other arts organizations including the Ontario Craft Council and the Canadian Royal Academy of Arts. She also continued her great love of travelling to places like Egypt, South America, Mexico, California and of course Canada. One of her most memorable trips was to Africa with the Stephen Lewis Foundation, “Grandmother to Grandmother Campaign.”
Paulette leaves her partner Bill, “the love of her life,” sisters Yvonne Yirush Hughes and Jose Pelletier, brother Brian Yirush, her two daughters, Brenda Gregory and Kathleen Kelly, their partners, Peter Gregory and John Hobbs, granddaughter, Danielle Passmore and her husband Jake, great-granddaughters Norah and Eleanor Passmore, granddaughter Caitlin Gregory, step-children Erik, Peggy, Jessica and Nathan Freeman, Bill’s grandchildren Maddie Adair and Josh and Sean Malone, who have known Paulette all of their lives. She was predeceased by her cherished son, Jim Kelly.
The Funeral Service will be held on Toronto (Centre) Island at St. Andrew by-the-Lake Anglican Church on Monday, April 22nd, at 11:00 a.m. Her burial will take place at St. John’s Norway Cemetery (256 Kingston Rd. at Woodbine), on Tuesday, April 23rd at 1 p.m.
The family encourages donations to the Stephen Lewis Foundation and Kensington Hospice in the name of Paulette Pelletier-Kelly. To share stories and photos, to make donations, for travelling information to the island church and for future celebrations of Paulette’s life, please visit her memorial web page at www.ecofuneral.ca