St. John’s Home resident Betty Kelly sometimes feels that her five children are too persistent in their visits, calls, and well-wishes. And recently, according to Betty, her son Dave went even further above and beyond. Dave and his wife, based in the D.C. area normally, made the trek to Rochester to present Betty with a custom blanket, emblazoned with images and words reflecting on their lifetime of family memories together.

The blanket depicted many Kelly family photos, as well as lists of the names of Betty’s five children (and their spouses), her 18 grandchildren, and her five great-great-grandchildren, two of whom (twins) are due in October. Betty’s son Tom, of Rochester, was in the Pacific Northwest at the time of the interview to be present for the arrival of the two littlest ones, his grandchildren.

Betty lived in Rochester her whole life; her parents lived off Lyell Avenue, and she sometimes spent summers at Conesus Lake, where her uncle owned a cottage. As an adult, Betty worked at RIT as a receptionist, greeting guests to the campus. Betty’s five children are scattered across the Eastern half of the United States; Tom and Mike are here in Rochester, Dave is in D.C., Mary Pat lives in Michigan, and Denny is in Florida.

Here at St. John’s Home, Betty maintains a sharp wit and a wry sense of humor. Some of her favorite activites here include listening to music, coloring in adult coloring books, drinking white wine at Happy Hour, and eating ice cream.

Betty isn’t so sure she likes all the attention she receives from her family, though she does recognize their faithfulness.