June & John Kelleher, Sr. Fund

John J. Kelleher Sr. spent his entire life solely dedicated to his wife, family, faith, and education of his children. John was born on March 7, 1922 in Malden, Massachusetts. In the summer of 1957, John and June, his wife of 56 years, moved their family to Wakefield. All four children, John Jr., Jeanne, Kevin and Stephen, were educated in the Wakefield school system. Education was a fundamental family value as all his children went to New England universities for further education and advanced degrees.

June E. Kelleher was raised in Medford and was a graduate of Girl’s Catholic High School in Malden, Class of 1940 and the Lawrence Memorial school of Nursing in Medford, Class of 1943. Mrs. Kelleher was a retired supervisor of nurses at the U.S. Health & Human Services in Boston. She was also a visiting nurse for the Town of Wakefield in the 1960s.

As beneficiaries and volunteers, the Kelleher family has been associated with The Scholarship Foundation of Wakefield for many years. From 1964 thru 1971, the Kelleher children received financial assistance to support their academic careers. June and Jeanne were both volunteer TSF Board members and participated regularly in community fundraising events. In addition, the Kelleher family has continued to make financial contributions to support TSF over many years. TSF has been and will continue to be important to the Kelleher family.

On October 1, 2001, John Kelleher passed away after a brief illness. To honor his life and memory, the family set up a permanent scholarship fund in his name to support future students in their pursuit of a higher education. Following her death on January 7, 2006, June’s name was added to the fund.