Sean Robert Kelly, 71, passed away on October 10, 2025, surrounded by his loving family. He was born December 24, 1954 in Lake Forest, Illinois to Joyce Lucille Munaretto Kelly and Lewis Alan Kelly. Sean grew up in Florham Park and Convent Station, New Jersey, and attended The Delbarton School as a day student. Sean was one of the founding members of Delbarton’s Schola Cantorum, and was active in the theater department, performing in and directing many productions.

Sean attended Yale University, where he was a resident of Morse College, and sang with the Battell Chapel Choir and The Bakers Dozen. During his senior year, Sean sang with the Whiffenpoofs of 1976, the first racially integrated Whiffenpoof group. Sean graduated Yale with a bachelor’s degree in Religious Studies. That same weekend, Sean married Anne Haviland Lockwood, the love of his life, with whom he enjoyed more than fifty years of happiness.

After graduating Georgetown Law School in 1979, Sean began his legal career at Pitney Harden in Morristown, New Jersey. He later joined Saiber LLC, where he was a trial lawyer whose practice focused on employment and education law. Sean also served as Treasurer and as Director of the Historical Society of the U.S. District Court for the District of New Jersey.

Sean and Anne moved to Hoboken in 1986, shortly before the births of their two sons. Sean and Anne were active in the civic life of the local Hoboken community, and enjoyed many summer vacations in South County, Rhode Island. Sean regularly attended services at St. Mary’s Abbey in Mendham, All Saints Episcopal Church in Hoboken, and The Cathedral Church of St. John the Divine. 

Sean was a significant patron of the performing arts. An avid theater-goer, Sean served as a member of the board of Musica Sacra, and sang as a member of the Chorale of the Cathedral Church of St. John the Divine. 

Sean is survived by his wife, Anne Haviland Lockwood; his brother, Kevin Vincent Kelly; his two sons, Maxwell Haviland Kelly and Timothy Lockwood Kelly; his daughters-in-law, Irene Mui and Katherine Cooper Sliclen; and the many people whose lives were illuminated by crossing his professional, artistic, and social paths. His final resting place is in the Cathedral’s Columbarium, mere feet from the choir stalls where he loved to sing.

All are welcome to attend Sean’s funeral service, which will be held at 4:30pm on November 1, 2025, at the Cathedral Church of St. John the Divine (112th Street & Amsterdam Avenue), where his remains will be interred just a few paces from the choir stalls where Sean sang in the Chorale for the past 15 years.

In lieu of flowers, please send donations to the Friends of Music at the Cathedral of St. John the Divine (https://secure.qgiv.com/for/friema), or to Compassionate Care ALS (https://ccals.org/), whose support for Sean was indispensable.