Ann Rose Whaley's Obituary
Ann Rose Whaley, a former commodore of the Rehoboth Bay Sailing Association, died of cancer Sept. 3 at her Ocean View home. She was 62.
A Sussex County resident for many years, she came to Rehoboth Beach as an infant and summer visitor. She spent her summers at 8 Wilmington Avenue in the 1970s and 1980s. She worked as a waitress in the dining room of the old Royalton Hotel (now the Royal Treat) and at the Candy Kitchen shops. For several summers she was a bartender at the old Papajohn’s tavern on the Rehoboth Beach boardwalk.
Born in Baltimore, MD., she was the daughter of Joseph B. Kelly and his wife, M. Stewart Monaghan Kelly, both long time Rehoboth visitors. She was a graduate of the Baltimore Academy of the Visitation, Notre Dame of Maryland Preparatory School, where she played field hockey, and the Catholic University of America, where she was a member of the staff of The Tower, a student newspaper.
She joined the Salvation Army and later the National Geographic magazine in Washington D.C. and worked in its photo captions department. She also worked for McGraw Hill publications in Philadelphia.
She moved to Sussex County in late 1980s and built a home in The Cottages in Ocean View. As a reporter-photographer, she contributed to local publications and did wedding photography. She worked for the Delaware State Housing Authority from 1990 to 1995. There she met her future husband, Christopher A. Whaley, now its director of housing management. She also worked for BIE and conducted local math, science and technology programs for middle school students in Kent and Sussex schools. They married in 1992 at St. Ann Church in Bethany Beach and had an ocean front reception at a Dewey Beach home.
She was a community volunteer and was a board member of the Friends of the South Coastal Library from 1988 to 1992. She also worked the University of Delaware’s Office for School to Work and the Delaware Business/Industry Education Alliance in enrichment programs for middle school students in Kent and Sussex schools. She sat on the Child Placement Review Board for the Delaware Department of Child Services.
Active in sailing, she served two terms as the commodore of the Rehoboth Bay Sailing Association, where she organized numerous events. She was also an avid angler.
Friends recalled her gentle sense of humor and ability to complete a project. She was an enthusiastic entertainer and often served her guests her homemade Baltimore-style crab cakes.
Survivors include her husband of 27 years Christopher A. Whaley; a son, Paul Joseph Whaley; two daughters, Mary Louise Whaley and Katherine Rose Whaley, all of Ocean View. She is also survived by her siblings, Jacques Kelly, Ellen Cora Kelly, Mary Stewart Kelly and Josephine Stewart O'Rourke, all of Baltimore.
Mass of Christian Burial will take place on Tuesday, September 10, 2019 at 11:00 AM at St. Ann Catholic Church, 691 Garfield Pkwy, Bethany Beach, DE, where friends may visit beginning at 10:00 AM.
Please sign Mrs. Whaley’s online guestbook located on this site.
FLORIST NOTE: PLEASE HAVE ALL FLORAL ARRANGEMENTS DELIVERED BY 3 PM, MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 9, 2019 TO PARSELL FUNERAL HOMES, OCEAN VIEW, DE.
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