Grace Kelly Bast of Sea Island, Georgia and Spring Lake, New Jersey, was called home to God on September 4th. She was 87 years old. Born and raised in Bay Ridge, Brooklyn, New York, the daughter of the late Grace (née Sullivan) and Edward Saunders, Grace was a graduate of Fontbonne Hall Academy, Brooklyn, where at a co-ed dance with Brooklyn Preparatory School, she met her future husband of 44 years, William E. Kelly II. Grace and Bill married in 1954 and raised their family in Spring Lake. After taking a 25-year hiatus from college studies to raise her eight children, Grace graduated from St. John’s University, Staten Island, in 1985 with a degree in psychology, and was featured in the press under the headline, “Grandmother earns college degree.”
Grace was a daily communicant of the parishes of St. William, St. Simon’s Island, Georgia and St. Catharine and St. Margaret, Spring Lake, New Jersey. Grace was a 20-year member of the Spring Lake Planning Board.
She was a founding member of the Spring Lake Bath and Tennis Club, where she served as a board member and on various club committees. She was also a longtime member of the Spring Lake Golf Club. She belonged to the Sea Island Club, where she and four generations of her family spent many happy years playing golf, tennis, swimming and sunbathing. She would go on to meet her second husband, Charles W. Bast, in Sea Island and enjoy five happy years of marriage.
Grace is predeceased by her husband William E. Kelly II, her second husband Charles W. Bast, her eldest son Edward P. Kelly and her stepson Kevin Bast. She is survived by her children, William III (Diane), Robert, Richard (Marybeth), Ellen Gerard (Dr. William), Elizabeth, Elaine Giuliano (William), Michael (Patricia); her daughter-in-law Alison; her stepchildren Laura Russo (Joseph), Brian (Cindy); her stepdaughter-in-law Karen Bast; her grandchildren Lauren Cahill (John), John (Alexandra), William IV (Alyson), Elizabeth Piazza (Bradford), Michael (Theresa), Elise Lewis (Jarrett), Katherine DeSanctis (Alexander), Andrew, Grace Lally, Gregory, Nicholas, William Gerard, Jr., Emily, Sara Lally, Kathleen Gerard, Brendan, Christine Giuliano, Jessica Gerard, Noelle Giuliano, Maggie, Brooke, Matthew and Michael Giuliano; and her step-grandchildren Michael, Heather, Charles and Matthew; and her great-grandchildren Edward Patrick II, Alba Grace and Fiona Harper. She is also survived by her brother Paul Saunders (Clarita) and her sister-in-law Maura Patricia Kelly.
A Funeral Mass will be held at 9 am on September 9th at St. Catharine’s Church in Spring Lake. Grace will be greatly missed by her loving and devoted family and many dear friends in Spring Lake and Sea Island. Contributions in her memory can be made to CASA Glynn Inc., P.O. Box 145, Brunswick, Georgia, 31521, where Grace enjoyed many years of volunteer service.