Mary Ellen Kehoe Ondo

Mary Ellen Kehoe Ondo, 77, passed away peacefully surrounded by her family on July 21, 2021.

Her Mass of Christian Burial will be celebrated at 11:00 AM, Saturday, July 24, 2021, at St. Joseph Catholic Church, 1695 Raoul Wallenberg Blvd, Charleston. The Rite of Committal will follow at Holy Cross Cemetery. The family will receive friends between 5:00 and 7:00 PM Friday at the James A. McAlister Funeral Home, 1620 Savannah Hwy.

Mary Ellen was born in Cleveland, Ohio, on January 18, 1944. She was the daughter of the late William and Margaret Kehoe. Mary Ellen graduated from Regina High School in Euclid, Ohio and received her teaching certification from the University of Dayton.

She met the love of her life, Jerry, while teaching 4th grade at St. Francis of Assisi in Gates Mills, Ohio and were married on August 26, 1967. They settled in Charleston in 1972, when Jerry accepted a faculty position at the Medical University of SC. It was here that they were blessed to raise 6 children. Mary Ellen and Jerry loved traveling the world, cruising with friends and shagging on the Santee later in life. They were also avid campers and took many family vacations with their large one-bedroom canvas tent. One of their most daring adventures was moving the entire family for a year in 1980 to live in Göttingen, Germany, where their youngest child was born.

Mary Ellen earned many titles throughout her life. She was a wife, mother, sister, aunt, sister-in-law, cousin, mother-in-law, friend, artist, teacher, carpool driver, cheerleader, volunteer, business owner, chef, swim instructor, room mom, flutist, piano instructor, dorm counselor, hostess, CSOL Designer House Boutique Chair, but her most beloved title was that of “Dhamma” to her nine grandchildren- Christian, Genevieve, Hampton, Fiora, Jorden, Lucy, Reece, Owen and Hudson.

Mary Ellen was a talented artist. In 1978, inspired by her own children, she began Alpha-pets, which was an illustrated animal alphabet- hand drawn in pen, ink, and watercolor. The business grew to include a clothing line that was designed, handmade, painted and embroidered. One summer she hand-painted all the team t-shirts for the Northbridge Killer Whale Swim Team and the Lowcountry Sea Devil Swim Team.

She is survived by her loving husband of 54 years, Dr. Jerry Ondo; six children, Meghan Geils (Wills), John Patrick Ondo (Angela Hall), Matthew  Ondo(Stephanie), Maura  Hall (Brian), Jennie  Lloyd (Marc)and Heidi  Bass (Jordan). She is also survived by her siblings, Gerald, Timothy, Robert and Anne Kehoe as well as many, many nieces and nephews.

Her family would like to thank the staff at MUSC, Roper Hospital, Charleston Oncology and Crescent Hospice for their kindness and care in her final days.

In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to St. Joseph’s Catholic Church online at www.saintjosephchas.com or to Sisters of Notre Dame in Chardon, Ohio at https://sndusa.org/donatechardon.