Reverend Daniel A. Kelly

Reverend Daniel Anthony Kelly, age 72, passed peacefully on Thursday, March 16, 2023.

Fr. Dan's cremated remains are located at the Mausoleum (Sec-N302 TR-C Nh-6)  located at Holy Cross Cemetery, 340 Ridge Road, North Arlington. 

Dan was born to Edward Thomas and Norma Kelly in Morristown.  He graduated from Morris Catholic High School with the Class of 1968 and during his high school years he loved to sing and was always taking the lead in musicals.  This love of music followed him throughout his life.  He graduated from Loyola University in New Orleans with a degree in Classical Voice. Upon returning to New Jersey he studied music at Montclair State when he decided to devote his life to the priesthood. He graduated from Saint Mary’s Seminary University in Baltimore, Maryland where he received his Masters Degree in Divinity. Father Dan was ordained into the Archdiocese of Paterson on December 12, 1987.  He loved the study of Theology and was working towards a Masters Degree when his parents became ill and he instead devoted himself to caring for them.

Dan’s early professional life, prior to joining the priesthood, included being a Certified Ski Instructor at Great Gorge and Vernon Valley for over ten years. A self-proclaimed “ski bum” in his 20’s, he also served a stint as an instructor and ski patroller at the Sun Valley ski resort in Idaho. “The Burn,” a double-black diamond ski trail at Breckenridge, Colorado, was his most favorite run. Dan was an Eagle Scout and worked professionally at the Allamuchy Scout Reservation in Stanhope, NJ, for eleven years, serving as Director for four of those years. He taught music and theology at Pope Pius XII School in Passaic, and taught theology and was a youth minister at Pope Paul VI Regional High School in Clifton. Throughout his years he has been a cantor and music director at parishes throughout the Diocese of Paterson and the Archdiocese of Newark.

Father Dan’s ministry with the Diocese of Paterson included eleven years as the Parochial Vicar of Saint Nicholas R.C. Church in Passaic and in 1998 he transferred to Immaculate Heart of Mary R.C. Church in Wayne, where he served his first five years with Rev. Msgr. Louis J. Bihr. Father Dan was appointed Pastor of the Parish in 2003.  Fr. Dan would be pastor of Immaculate Heart of Mary for the next fifteen years when he had to retire in 2018 for health reasons.

Fr. Dan has lived the challenge of cancer for over seventeen years. He started with a diagnosis of Mantel Cell Lymphoma which, after radical chemotherapy and radiation, was remanded to remission. As doctors were keeping a close eye on him they soon found a lung tumor which they removed with a lobectomy. He had a bilateral stroke and after that he had a diagnosis of Multiple Myeloma which forced his retirement.  He then began fighting Myeloid Dysplasia Syndrome. As you can imagine hospital visits, doctors’ appointments and all the daily challenges represented can be overwhelming.  Fr. Dan shares all this to help you understand the significance of the love, care, devotion, and understanding he received from his church family at Immaculate Heart of Mary.  From prayers, meals, transportation, a listening ear, a hug, through caring for him at their private home the Pastor was being loved and ministered to himself, and from the bottom of his heart he is truly grateful to all. When providing the information for this story, Father Dan was brought to tears, not because he was fighting cancer - he expected that, but rather that he was recalling one of the saddest days of his life, September 1, 2018, the day he retired from Immaculate Heart of Mary.  Fr. Dan, who had been charged with caring for those at Immaculate Heart of Mary, felt like he was losing his family, and that truly hurt him to his soul. In January 2020, more than three years ago, Father Dan was put on Hospice care and his healthcare providers gave him a very limited amount of time. Amazingly, Father Dan’s symptoms seemed to abate and his health began to improve. He made a recovery that was nothing short of astonishing to everyone. By June of 2020, he was driving again. Although he was still ill, he was able to return to an otherwise ‘ordinary’ lifestyle,’ ministering to the parishioners at Our Lady of Consolation RC Church, who became his second parish family in Wayne. As the Covid pandemic restrictions loosened, he began traveling again and was able to visit Istanbul, Turkey and the Greek Islands. As recently as January of 2023, he enjoyed a lovely cruise through the Panama Canal. He was not cured of cancer by any means, but God blessed him with three additional years that even the best and brightest medical professionals could not have anticipated. He was grateful and used those three years to continue to spread God’s love and he brought blessings to even more people. He is beloved by countless people, and he will be missed by many.

Dan was the loved brother of Ronald Kelly and his wife Jill of Quincy, Illinois; one niece Kimberly Dinkheller and her husband Travis, also of Quincy, Illinois. He was predeceased by his much loved Bichon “Mackie” in May of 2022.

In lieu of flowers, memorial donations would be appreciated to Our Lady of Consolation RC Church, Wayne, or to St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital, Memphis, TN, www.stjude.org.

For those who are unable to join us for the funeral, Our Lady of Consolation Church will be hosting a livestream of the event starting at 10 AM on Wednesday, March 22, 2023 at the following link: https://youtube.com/live/HxVg7UiUGOc?feature=share

If you would like to visit Fr. Dan Kelly's final resting place, you can do so at Holy Cross Mausoleum, 340 Ridge Rd, N. Arlington, NJ. The location is Chapel #3, N302, Tier C , Niche #6.