In Memory of Kelly Stallings, August 26, 1970 – June 22, 2019

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My name is Eric, husband of the late Kelly Stallings.

Kelly and I have lived in Manchester, MA since the end of June 2007.  As some of you know, Kelly died last year on June 22.

Kelly was a kind, gentle and loving person who shared her entire life with animals and who put animals first.  Kelly contributed to improving animal lives as a veterinarian technician, animal shelter adoption counselor and kennel technician, and an animal hospital radiology technician.  Kelly volunteered at animal shelters, most recently at the Northeast Animal Shelter (NEAS) in Salem, MA and she fostered cats and dogs.  Throughout her life, she was a devoted and loving parent to cats, dogs, hamsters and rabbits.  While she was an animal shelter volunteer and fostered animals, Kelly also ran her own harp string making business, North Shore Strings.

Kelly had a strong bond with the animals in her life, so much so, that she wrote a book to share her experiences and perspectives, Never Say Goodbye: Reflections on a Lifetime of Loving Animals.  The book was published posthumously January 22, 2020 and is available on the Amazon and Barnes and Noble websites. A copy of Kelly’s book is also available through the Manchester-by-the-Sea Public Library.

In Kelly’s memory, an endowment fund, the Kelly Rae Stallings Fund, has been established at the New Hampshire SPCA. All contributions to this fund remain as principal in the fund with income generated from the fund going towards medicine for animals preparing for adoption (nhspca.org/special-giving/).  In addition to the New Hampshire SPCA, contributions have also been made to NEAS, the Cape Ann Animal Aid, the Massachusetts SPCA, the American SPCA, Hull Seaside Animal Rescue and the Marine Mammal Center.  Kelly’s name can be found associated with the cat isolation room at the New Hampshire SPCA, a cat community room at NEAS and a dog meet and greet area at the Cape Ann Animal Aid.

I loved and admired Kelly for her ability to love animals unconditionally.  I am and will be forever grateful to Kelly for expanding my thinking and belief systems regarding animals and our connections with them.  She was a compassionate and empathic person and cared deeply for animals.  She was technically proficient and competent and had very good intuition when caring for animals.  The animals and we were lucky to have been part of Kelly’s life, regardless of the length of time together with her.  Kelly had a wonderful smile and was a beautiful person inside and out. She will be forever missed, loved and remembered by her family and friends.

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