Kelly Williams - Ustick 

(1980–2026) 

If there is an art to presence—to the act of being distinct and undeniable—Kelly Williams mastered it early. Sharp-witted and formidable, Kelly was simply incapable of being boring. She was an anchor or a buoy, shifting roles as her loved ones needed, possessing a gravitational pull that kept a sprawling network of family and friends safely in her orbit. 

   Kelly passed on Friday, January 9, 2026, at Anna Jaques Hospital. She was 45. Born in 1980, she was the first chapter of a new generation—the eldest of what would eventually become a tribe of fifteenth Buresh cousins. To her maternal grandparents, Teresa and William Buresh, she was the inaugural joy, the one who set the standard. While the Williams family story began in Peabody, Massachusetts, the mythology of Kelly’s childhood was written in Amesbury, on the banks of Lake Attitash. It was there that the extended clan established something resembling a glorious, chaotic compound. 

Kelly’s family—Kathy, Doug, Kerry, and Carl—lived next door to her aunt, uncle, and two of those many cousins, and the two households operated essentially as one. But the village stretched far wider. Summers were a blur of slamming screen doors and lake water, punctuated by a revolving door of beloved aunts, uncles, friends, and neighbors. In that tight-knit however expansive world, Kelly was the sun. Whether the pack was tubing on the water or exploring the woods, she was the ringleader. She possessed a magnetism inherited from her mother, Kathy—the original life of the party—and a lightning-fast wit inherited from her father, Doug. She was equal parts Kathy and Doug, a potent combination of charm and edge. 

   Kelly was never just one thing. In high school hallways where conformity usually reigns, Kelly was an iconoclast—equal parts hardcore kid, raver, jam band fan. If the music was good, she was all about it. Because she understood early that music was where the community lived. That love of the collective experience carried into adulthood. She married Adin Ustick, a man who had been one of her best friends since high school. Their romance wasn't the sudden strike of teenage sweethearts, but the slow burn of a deep, foundational friendship that eventually caught fire. Together, they were devotees of live music, traveling to see Phish, Moe, the Allman Brothers, and the various incarnations of the Dead. They built a life on the road and in the crowd, shoulder to shoulder. Of course, you can’t speak about Kelly without mentioning her sense of humor. She was deeply funny, possessing the kind of intelligence that allowed her to see the absurdity of the world and laugh at it. Her cousin Kandis described her as "the perfect amount of sugar and spice"—Kelly was the friend who knew exactly when to make you laugh, and exactly when to tell you it was time to put your "big girl pants on." As a mother to her beloved daughter Lily and son Adin Jr., she instilled that same spirit of independence and joy, but she also taught them the value of quiet moments. She was someone who could find as much happiness staring out at the lights shining off the lake as she could at a rowdy concert. She loved those peaceful moments. And her love brought people peace. 

   Perhaps her greatest gift was her constancy. In a world where relationships often fray through simple neglect, Kelly did the work. She bridged the gaps. She made the calls. She showed up. She was good at remaining in your life, even when you weren’t always good at remaining in hers.  She leaves behind a family stunned by the silence where her loud laughter used to be. She was the first of the cousins, the first to the lake, and now, heartbreakingly, the first to leave the party. But as Kelly would say: Here’s to the breezes. Survivors and Service Kelly is survived by her husband, Adin Ustick; her children, Lily and Adin Jr.; her father, Doug Williams; her sister, Kerry Powlovich, and brother-in-law Peter; her brother, Carl Williams, and sister-in-law Brittany; and a vast network of family and friends. Her mother, Kathleen Williams; her grandparents, Teresa and William Buresh; her aunt, Judith Doyle; her uncle, William Buresh, and cousin, Krista Sarnowski predeceased her. Also predeceased by her  grandparents, Carl and Francis Williams, and her uncles Gary, Sypolt and Richard Williams. A celebration of life will be held in Kelly’s honor on Friday, January 23, 2026, from 1:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m. at the Newburyport Elks Lodge.