Elizabeth J. Kelly |1947-2021|

  “To Those Who Follow” -John Barbato**

Spirit Guardians of Death and New Beginnings, please receive this being we send to you. Allow her to fly through the stars, swim the ocean of Creation and travel to places of beauty and light. Her name is Elizabeth Jean Kelly, Beth, Bethy, Señora Beth and she is our cherished sister, mother, grandmother and friend.

She was born a free spirit, a seeker, an artist, a traveler, a roamer. Life was an experience to be tasted, tested and loved to the fullest. Beth was an adventurer, explorer, dreamer and guiding light. A poet and a writer, a sculptor of people and things. We thank her for giving us her unique spin on life, her courage to stand up for what is right and to think freely.
Elizabeth J Kelly is her name.
Born August, 1947
Died December 31st, 2021
She had a cosmic celebration to attend and she wasn't going to be late!

“Wizard's Going Back to Africa” -John Barbato**

Beth grew up in the suburbs of St Louis, MO. She was preceded in death by her husband and partner in crime, John B, her parents, Ron K and Kaye K. She is survived by her sisters, brother, two children and two grandchildren as well as many loved nieces, nephews, and friends. Her spirit may have left us in the waning hours of 2021 but not only will it forever reside in the hearts and lives of her children and siblings but also in the many memories, life lessons, and experiences so many shared with her.

Beginning with her father's lust for life, his humor, and his straight forward approach to life, her mother's sense of family, loyalty, and self-assurance, she exploded into this plane of existence. Early on she embraced the “youth movement” of the sixties, moving to the West coast. There, she found a stream of characters like herself and began many lifelong friendships. Musicians, poets, nature lovers, artisans, acting and interacting in a tribe all their own. She was a trader of indigenous north American crafts, lived in the Huckleberry Mountains, near Spokane WA in a log cabin with only the most basic of needs. With her was her then very young children. Later, she lived in the once nearly abandoned mining town of Silver City, NV when it began to be repopulated by her compatriots from the San Francisco scene. She settled in Reno, NV for a bit once her eldest child entered High School. This was also to be near her youngest child more often to ensure a love filled family dynamic despite separate households.

Beth's love of travel exhibited itself early on with her move to the West Coast and, later, to Haiti with an exploration of Voodoo and alternate religions and philosophies. Finally, Beth traveled to Mexico and Central Americas where she found the culture and lifestyle she would embrace for the rest of her life. She found “home.” She became a student of Mexican Santeria, all things Mesoamerican, and truly embarked on her writings about Antigua, Guatemala, Mexico City, Cholula and Puerto Escondido.

“I Remember Keeping Still” -John Barbato**

Eventually, while circulating amongst the American Ex-Pat culture in Mexico she met a true renaissance man, poet, musician and painter, John B. They had heard rumors of each other from an ever growing group of shared friends. Letters were exchanged, a phone call occurred, and a meeting was arranged.

Having once met, The two were never to part very long as they formed a team, a life partnership, living, traveling, relaxing, loving, visiting, creating together. Beth continued to write, both in partnership with John where they edited newsletters, a radio show, and of course, Beth's growing body of work, novels, short stories, poems, fiction and non-fiction. The two continued life in an idyllic fashion, Beth modeling for many of John's paintings, John singing and strumming his guitar. She took on her artistry, sculpting in the assemblage method of collage, creating glass art beads, jewelry design and poetry. She and he travelled about Mexico, showing his work in galleries and private homes, performing poetry readings and arranged shows in the United States while visiting family in California, Illinois, Kansas, and Nevada. Life was just about perfect. Until the day the music died.

“Sometimes I Use Ropes” -John Barbato**

In the fall of 2020, John, her beloved partner and husband took off on his last, great adventure and passed over into another realm. She not only lost John, but without her partner and her own growing frailty, a permanent home in Mexico, which became untenable. She packed up and moved back to the United States. She was growing used to life in the US, traveling between family and friend's homes, spending time with her children, adjusting to weather so different from home. Until December 2021, just 14 months after John, she was felled by a massive hemorrhagic stroke. She chose her style of death, just as much as she chose her style of life, requesting DNR. She awaited those who could come to say good bye and gave up her last breath on NYE 2021. The world will celebrate her life forever more, with fireworks, horn honking, and joy.

We love you, Bethy.

-Tim Kelly, Author
-Eris Kelly, Editor