Amanda Valerie Schroepfer O'Kelly

Amanda Valerie Schroepfer O’Kelly, a courageous, devoted mother and beloved daughter, passed away in the presence of family on May 1, 2024 after a two-year battle with cancer. Throughout her 44 years of living a beautiful life, she loved her family and friends fiercely and was loved fiercely in return. Growing up in her childhood home in Piscataway, New Jersey, Amanda took in the world through thick-rimmed glasses with curiosity and empathy. As the eldest sister, she took good care of her younger siblings, having a natural affinity for providing guidance and support. She made many close friends in childhood and adolescence with her kindness, spirit, and humor. After graduating from Piscataway High School, Amanda went on to earn her undergraduate degree from Rutgers University, during which time she met her life partner, Tom O’Kelly. She then went on to the University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey, putting her abundant compassion for others into her career as a child psychiatrist and pediatrician. She was overjoyed upon her acceptance into the triple board program (Adult Psychology, Child Psychology, and Pediatrics) at the Queen’s Medical Center in Honolulu, Hawai’i, a life-changing opportunity that she cherished. In June 2007, she left New Jersey for Oahu with a grain of trepidation and a pound of enthusiasm. There, her residency flowered into a vast, loving community of colleagues and friends. She was joined on the island shortly after by Tom, then her sister Adrianne for a time, and later, her brother-in-law Sean. Amanda and Tom married and started a family of their own, raising their children Kieran Kai and Ashling Valerie on Oahu. After living there for 16 years, with a steady stream of family members and friends visiting from the mainland, she returned to New Jersey to be closer to her family. Amanda found joy in traveling with friends and family and spending as much time outdoors as possible. Her children were the greatest gifts of her life, and she devoted herself to them, fighting to stay with them for as long as she could. She will be remembered for the light she brought into so many people’s lives and for her incredible strength of spirit and mind. Amanda is survived by her children Kieran and Ashling; her husband Tom and the O'Kelly family; her parents and step-parents Judy Taylor and Bill Evans, and George and Debbie Schroepfer; her sisters Christina (husband Chris), Adrianne, and Jilly; her brothers Bryan, Mike (wife Roberta), and Dan; nieces, nephews, aunts, uncles, cousins, and many dear friends and loved ones. In lieu of flowers, please send donations to the Breast Cancer Research Foundation or to the Queen's Medical Center. Breast Cancer Research Foundation To make a Gift in memory of Amanda to the Breast Cancer Research Foundation, please click on the following link: https://give.bcrf.org/fundraiser/5516224 Queen's Medical Center, Honolulu, HI To make a Gift of Aloha to The Queen’s Medical Center in Honolulu, please click on the link and indicate in Tribute Gift: In Memory of Amanda O’Kelly. https://www.queens.org/give/ways-to-give/donate/?BBFund=3688 Autism Society of Hawaii https://autismsocietyhi.org The memorial visitation will be on Friday, May 10, 2024 from 4:00 PM to 7:00 PM at the Ketusky Funeral Home, 1310 Brooks Blvd., Manville, NJ 08835. There will also be a Memorial which will take place at a later date in Hawaii.

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Amanda Valerie Schroepfer O'Kelly

January 9, 1980 - May 1, 2024