Rachel Patricia Hennelly's Obituary
Rachel Patricia Hennelly
August 9,1960—October 20, 2022
Rachel Hennelly, 62, died in hospice care at Holy Name Medical Center in Teaneck,
New Jersey, on October 20th. Her presence was a gift to the lives she touched, and
remembering her creativity, determination, and optimism will be a blessing.
Ms. Hennelly was predeceased by her mother, Patricia Lawrence, and her father,
Robert P. Hennelly Sr. Her surviving relatives include her older siblings Bob, Jennifer,
and Andrew, as well as her younger brothers David and Christopher. She is also
survived by her sisters-in law, Debra Sabatini Hennelly and Anna Hennelly, as well as
nieces Emily Hennelly McCollum, Abigail Hennelly, Rebecca Hennelly Rezach, and
nephews Austin, Griffin, and Nolan Hennelly.
Ms. Hennelly was a ballet dancer, a member of Actors’ Equity and the American Guild
of Musical Artists, a juggler, and a prolific folk artist. She designed and made
marionettes—from carving to costuming—that she used to entertain children of all ages
in the subways and streets of NYC, or wherever people would gather. She routinely set
up shop in New York City outside the Metropolitan Museum of Art or near Lincoln
Center to sell her creations, which were like her children.
Her Magical Marionette Theater entertained thousands of children and adults at dozens
of venues, including: the Lincoln Center Out-of-Door Festival; the Museum of Natural
History; the Brooklyn Academy of Music; Paramount Theater; Madison Square Garden;
and was selected to be an act for the MTA’s Music Under New York Series, as well as
the Holiday Market at Grand Central Station.
Ms. Hennelly studied with Irene Fokine and American Ballet Theater. She was an
experienced juggler, who combined the circus arts with dance in appearances at Avery
Fisher Hall, Lincoln Center Out-of-Doors, and the New York Theater Ballet, Gould Hall,
the National Actor Theater Gala with Tony Randall, the Brooklyn Academy of Music’s
Children’s Festival, the Showboat Casino, and several other regional theaters across
the country.
“One of the highlights of the divertissements was a lively Russian carnival sequence in
which Rachel Hennelly juggled while she danced,” wrote Jack Anderson, dance critic
with the New York Times, of Rachel’s performance in “The Nutcracker” for the New
York Theater Ballet.
She had been a featured dance soloist with the Houston Grand Opera, the Lake George
Opera Festival, the Village Light Opera and performed with Ringling Bros. and Barnum
& Bailey Circus.
She was a founding member of Ballade Dance Company.
A funeral mass will be held on Monday, October 31 st , at 10:00 a.m., at St. Francis of
Assisi Church, 50 Lodi Street, Hackensack, New Jersey. In lieu of flowers, the family
suggests a donation in Ms. Hennelly’s name to St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital.
A private interment will follow at Maryrest Cemetery in Mahwah, New Jersey.
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