BERNARDINE KEELTY WYATT

Bernardine Keelty Wyatt, born February 25, 1940, passed peacefully on July 27, 2026 at her home in Lutherville, Maryland.

Bernardine was the devoted daughter of the late James S. Keelty, Jr. and Louise H. Keelty (nee Hayes); beloved mother of Anne Wyatt Thornhill (Vinston), Michael T. Wyatt (Courtney), Timothy K. Wyatt (Catherine), and Brian P. Wyatt (Rebecca); loving grandmother of Patrick Thornhill (Kristen), James Thornhill (Maggie), Sheridan Thornhill Yardley (Nicholas), Clark Wyatt, Matthew Wyatt, Lucy Wyatt, Maeve Wyatt, Keelty Wyatt, Seamus Wyatt, Bartley Wyatt, Rory Wyatt, and Sloane Wyatt; dear sister of Louise Keelty, James Keelty (Mary), Kevin Keelty (Lana), Brian Keelty, Michael Keelty (Julia), Maureen K. Suelau (Henry), and Patrick Keelty (Donna); dear sister-in-law of Maurice Wyatt (Beverly), Bridget Wyatt, the late Edward Wyatt (Cyril), and the late Nancy Corun (Bill); cherished great grandmother of Peter, Henry, Lucy, Ada, and Charles Thornhill.  Bernardine was also predeceased by her husband J. Michael ("Mike") Wyatt, Jr in 2007.

Bernardine, affectionately called "B" by her twelve grandchildren and simply "Bern" by friends and family, was raised in Baltimore as one of eight children born to James and Louise Keelty. Her father was a prominent builder and the former President and co-owner of the Baltimore Orioles, helping relocate the team from St. Louis in 1954. James and Louise were deeply philanthropic, generously supporting numerous Catholic educational and healthcare organizations - a legacy of giving that Bernardine would later embrace with her own time, talent, and treasure.

As the second oldest of eight children born over nearly a 20-year span, Bernardine learned early the importance of selflessness and caring for others. She helped look after her younger siblings and later devoted herself to being a companion and caregiver to her parents and her paternal uncle, Joseph Keelty, in their advanced years. These experiences shaped and reflected Bernardine's commitment to placing the needs of others above her own, which was one of the hallmarks of her life.

Bernardine was a proud alumna of Mount St. Agnes High School in Mount Washington and later received an associate's degree from Villa Julie (now Stevenson University). Over the years, she remained close with her Mount St. Agnes classmates, attending reunions and informal gatherings long after the school closed in the late 1960s.

Raising her four children was truly Bernardine's passion and proudest accomplishment. She celebrated their triumphs, supported them through disappointments, and ensured they received Catholic educations and were always surrounded and supported by a vast network of friends and family.  She took a genuine interest in every aspect of their lives and her home at Clearfield Circle was always open to their friends from Cathedral, Loyola Blakefield, and Notre Dame Preparatory, whom she treated as family.

While her sons attended Loyola Blakefield from the late 1970s through the late 1980s, Bernardine volunteered countless hours, eventually becoming President of the Loyola Mother's Club and championing the "Balloons Over Blakefield" campaign for the school's 50th anniversary on campus. For her tireless efforts, she received special recognition at her youngest son Brian's graduation in 1987.

After her first marriage ended in divorce, Bernardine persevered and eventually married Mike Wyatt, a longtime friend and recent widower, who became the love of her life and treated her children like his own. She and her children were warmly welcomed into the extended Wyatt clan, which together with the Keelty clan, was central to the life she and Mike created. She extended warmth, generosity, and boundless positivity to members of both families, which included many adoring nieces and nephews, and always took a genuine interest in their lives.

Throughout her life, Bernardine remained devoted to her four children, and later to their spouses, her twelve grandchildren, and five great-grandchildren. She embraced being a mother, mother-in-law, grandmother, and great-grandmother with unmatched enthusiasm, attending literally hundreds of her children's and grandchildren's lacrosse, football, soccer, basketball, and baseball games, as well as countless graduations and other milestone events. In many ways, she was like a third parent for each of her grandchildren.

Bernardine also cherished her deep roots, attending five extended Keelty family reunions over the years in Sea Island, Georgia; Ponte Vedra, Florida; Colorado Springs, Colorado; and Snowmass, Colorado.  From that, she remained in close contact with many members of her extended paternal family, which was scattered across the country.

When Mike passed away in 2007, Bernardine was at his side holding his hand and, thereafter, remained a fixture in the extended Wyatt family.  She frequently could be found in the company of her beloved brother-in-law and sister-in-law, Maurice and Beverly Wyatt, and their mutual friend, Fr. Christopher Whatley.

While deeply proud of her extended Irish Catholic family, Bernardine was also blessed with countless friends from childhood, high school, her children's schools, and Baltimore Country Club. Invariably, the children of her friends became some of her own children's closest companions. When someone became her friend, it forged a lifetime bond; Bernardine systematically stayed in touch and approached each relationship with steadfast loyalty, generosity, and thoughtfulness. In later years, even while battling her own health challenges, she routinely could be counted on to attend to the needs of close friends and their families as they faced age-related infirmities or illness.

Until the end, Bernardine possessed an uncommon gift for building and maintaining meaningful relationships. She was always willing to share a smile or laugh, was reliably optimistic, and was fiercely devoted to the people she loved the most. As anyone who truly knew her could attest, she consistently placed the needs of her friends and family members above her own. With Bernardine, you always knew she had your back.

Bernardine eagerly welcomed any excuse for a party and genuinely enjoyed any lively gathering of loved ones - the bigger and more boisterous, the better. She was an accomplished hostess, and her home on Clearfield Circle was the center of social activity during the forty-plus years she lived there. She never hesitated to offer her home as a venue for large social gatherings, including rehearsal dinners for two of her sons, the wedding of a close friend's daughter, various showers, and countless milestone birthdays for friends and family members.  Above all, she looked forward to entertaining her immediate family on Thanksgiving and Christmas until recent health challenges no longer made that possible.

She was also an accomplished practitioner of the culinary arts. Many of her signature recipes - including hot chicken salad, oyster dressing, Maryland crab soup and crabcakes, spaghetti with homemade meatballs, and meatloaf - have been passed along to her children and will be enjoyed by future generations. Always multitasking in the kitchen, Bernardine's gastronomic output was truly prodigious; even when she lived alone, she required two full-size refrigerators in her garage to store her creations, which invariably made their way onto her children's dinner tables.

Bernardine was an avid duckpin bowler in the Cathedral mother's league and at the Baltimore Country Club. For her 80th birthday, she insisted on hosting a duckpin bowling party for her children and grandchildren. She also enjoyed golf - taking up the game in the 1980s with a passion - and regularly played with her ladies' group at the Baltimore Country Club until just over 10 years ago. She also volunteered and worked at two United States Women's Open Championships held locally in the 1980s.

In her later years, Bernardine faced multiple serious health challenges and hospitalizations, but she never complained.  Each time she was bound and determined to bounce back and resume her normal activities and busy social life.  Bernardine will be sorely missed, but her life lessons on the importance of family and friends, maintaining an optimistic outlook, and giving generously of oneself will live on through the many lives she positively impacted.

Friends may call at the family-owned Ruck Towson Funeral Home, Inc., 1050 York Rd. (beltway exit 26), on Monday, August 3rd, from 4 to 7 PM.  A Funeral Mass will be held at St. Joseph Catholic Church, 100 Church Ln, Cockeysville, MD 21030, on Tuesday, August 4th, at 10 AM.   The Mass will be live streamed at: https://www.youtube.com/live/NQGFDqSaZdU .  The internment will be private.

In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions may be made in her name to Loyola Blakefield at https://www.loyolablakefield.org/make-a-gift or to St. Joseph's Medical Center at https://www.umms.org/sjmc/giving .