Mary Jane Shelly

Mary Jane Shelly, the daughter of Irish immigrants who became the first in her family to graduate college, the mother of 10 children and a longtime reporter and editor who won both statewide awards at The Chestnut Hill Local, and the deep respect and thanks of the community she loved and served for more than 30 years, died February 3, 2025 at Rockhill Mennonite Community in Sellersville.

Mrs. Shelly was 94 years old. She was preceded in death by her husband, Thomas J. Shelly Sr., her younger brother Alexander Mogey, and her granddaughter Maura Devlin. She is survived by Thomas Jr. (Rita), Alix Corboy (John), Susan Mohr (James), John (Susan); Carol (Robert Ebert), Mary Jane “Molly” Devlin (Conor), Peter (Faith Curran), David, Stephen (Jennifer), and Daniel (Jennifer.) She is also survived by 22 grandchildren and 10 great grandchildren.

Thomas Shelly Sr. died in 1980 at 51 years. Mrs. Shelly, 49, confronted with the challenge of having seven dependents living at home, and a full-time job never faltered. She buried her husband on a Friday, endured a difficult Mother’s Day that Sunday and was back at her desk Monday.

Mary Jane Mogey, known for much of her life as “Molly,” was born on Christmas Day, 1930 in Philadelphia to Alexander Mogey, a bus driver for the predecessor to SEPTA and a tenor drum player for a regional Irish pipe band and Mary (Flannery) Mogey, a maid who worked for wealthy families in Philadelphia. She graduated from St. Mary’s Academy in 1948 and, having won a scholarship, matriculated to Chestnut Hill College.

She graduated with a Major in English and a Minor in Chemistry. After graduating with Honors, she went to work at Saunders Publishing in Philadelphia where she edited medical textbooks. Mary Jane and Tom were engaged in 1952 while Tom was on active duty with the United States Coast Guard. They were married at Holy Cross Parish in 1953. The couple lived in Olney and ultimately settled in Chestnut Hill. Mrs. Shelly worked for The Philadelphia Evening Bulletin covering local municipal meetings. Typically, she would leave after dinner to attend a meeting, return home and dictate an article over the phone to the desk.

She joined the Chestnut Hill Local staff in 1971.

She was honored to receive The Chestnut Hill Award from the Chestnut Hill Community Association in 1997 for her volunteer work as “chairman of too many committees to remember” and for “… twenty-six years as the feverishly determined associate editor of The Chestnut Hill Local.” The award noted that “Mary Jane consistently brings to our community an objective and unfailing sense or reason and understanding … as well as ten children.”

While at The Local, Mrs. Shelly and fellow editor Marie Jones led a ‘Don't Mess With Our Paper' campaign as some community leaders sought to either exert control over the paper, sell it outright or sever it from the Community Association. The battle landed on the front page of The Inquirer Sunday Magazine. Ultimately, The Local survived intact. The duo sparred with former Philadelphia Mayor and Chestnut Hill resident Frank Rizzo, among many elected officials over many years. She and Mrs. Jones challenged their readers with coverage and editorials on all local issues, as well as global including racial justice and tolerance, and famine in Africa. The paper once published a front-page photo of a starving child for its Christmas week edition. The Local was honored with several awards by the Pennsylvania Newspaper Association under the team’s leadership. 

After 26 years at The Local, Mrs. Shelly retired and moved to her beloved Long Beach Island (LBI), where she lived until Hurricane Sandy destroyed her home. She was an active parishioner at St. Francis of Assisi Parish in Ship Bottom and became a Secular Franciscan, whose members are “called to live the Gospel of Our Lord Jesus Christ in the world” and practice the Prayer of St. Francis, which calls on us to love rather than be loved, to understand rather than be understood, and to forgive rather than be forgiven. 

After leaving LBI, Mrs. Shelly lived at the Community at Rockhill in Sellersville. Her children would like to express their thanks to the wonderful staff at Rockhill for their dedication and loving care. We ask that any donations in Mary Jane’s name be made to the Benevolent Fund at the Community at Rockhill. 

Visit graceinspiredliving.org or mail check for the fund to Alyssa Guers, Director of Development, 12 Lutheran Home Drive, Telford, PA 18969.