Plan for the Future
Mary Lucille “Bada” Pringle Keelan, 87, of Cedar Knolls, passed away on May 14, 2024, after a courageous multi-year battle with oral cancer and the effects of an 11-hour surgery that she bravely fought through at the age of 84.
Born in Newark, NJ, to Margaret Mary (Curran) and Albert Mooney in 1936, Lucille grew up in East Orange and moved to Livingston in 1951. She graduated from Lady of the Valley High School in Orange in 1954. After graduating, she attended the Katharine Gibbs Secretarial School. Her first secretarial position was with Organon, Inc. in West Orange. She then worked as a secretary for General Electric for 16 years before dedicating 36 years to Yauch, Peterpaul, Clark & Vitolo as a legal secretary. She was a dedicated hard worker through age 80 and cared for her colleagues and their families as her own.
She lived the majority of her adult life in Livingston, moving to Cedar Knolls in 2017. She was a devout parishioner of St. Raphael’s RC Church for many years where she also was a Eucharistic Minister and dedicated her free time to bringing communion to those who could not attend church in person. Upon relocating to Cedar Knolls, she joined Notre Dame of Mt. Carmel, which was a great source of comfort during the stressful years of the pandemic and her own illness.
Lucille enjoyed staying active, picking up aerobics at the local YMCA in her 30’s as well as line dancing. She never missed a sporting event or extra-curricular activity of her grandchildren for decades, even insisting on bringing snacks for the entire team (and opposing team) every single time. She would frequently volunteer to give rides to acquaintances and strangers alike, always assuming the best of everyone and offering a helping hand. She was a huge New York Yankees fan and an even bigger fan of Derek Jeter, having a life-sized cardboard cut-out of him in her living room for decades.
After her first husband James Pringle passed in 1991, she remarried in 2002 to John P. Keelan, who unexpectedly passed shortly thereafter.
She was the loving mother of Kathleen (Augie) Kaufhold. She adored her grandchildren, Sean Anthony (Nicole Barna), and Kimberly Anthony (Brian Martinez) as well as her great-grandchildren, Reilly, Maisie Lucille, and one more on the way, for whom she was eagerly awaiting. In addition to her parents, she is pre-deceased by her sister Eileen Mooney, brother James “Big Jim” Mooney, brother William “Billy” Mooney, and great-great-nephew Xander James. She is survived by her sister Margaret “Peggy” Doris, her five nieces and nephews, Daniel (Debbi) Doris, James (Kelly) Doris, Kitty (Peter) Doris-Bates, Peter (Susan) Doris, and Peggy (Mitchell) Covington. She is also survived by 16 great-nieces and nephews, seven great-great-nieces and nephews, her beloved neighbor Betty, and her faithful companion cat, Thor.
Family and friends are welcome to gather on Sunday, May 19, 2024 from 2 pm to 6 pm at Bradley-Braviak Funeral Home, 49 Whippany Road, Whippany. A Funeral Mass will be held in her honor at Notre Dame of Mt. Carmel Church, 75 Ridgedale Avenue, Cedar Knolls, on Monday, May 20, 2024 at 9:30 a.m.
Those who wish may contribute in her memory to either the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia or the Maryknoll Fathers and Brothers.
