By Kevin Coughlin
Kelly Marie Smith, the 31-year-old victim of the Pine Street fire two weeks ago, had moved into the attic apartment a couple of months earlier seeking a quiet place to rebuild her life, according to housemates.
“She was nice, quiet, humble. Nothing crazy,” said Jared Tamasco, the last person to see Kelly alive.
He met Kelly when she responded in May to his craigslist ad seeking another person to share his three-bedroom space atop 15 Pine.
Meeting outside a club on Speedwell Avenue, near Jared’s gym, Kelly told him that her apartment situation on Mount Kemble Avenue was too rowdy.
“You breathe a sigh of relief when you get a roommate you think is good,” recalled Jared, 33, a resident at 15 Pine for five years. “We like to keep it quiet and clean here. If there’s a party, we like to take it somewhere else.”
Kelly told him she was trying to save money to return to Miami, where an ex-boyfriend resides.
“She was just getting her life turned around,” said Jared’s girlfriend, Adrienne Mendonez, who lived in the attic apartment. Another man also had a room there. Floor-mates shared a kitchen, living room and bathrooms and split the $1,650 rent.
In all, 11 people lived in the circa-1900 house, according to the Morris County Prosecutor’s Office, which has said the July 13, 2015, fire does not appear suspicious in nature. Morristown Fire Chief Robert Flanagan said the fast-moving blaze appears to have started on the front porch. Authorities have not released a determination of what caused the late-night fire.
Adrienne Mendonez has started a crowd-funding site, PineStFire.org, to assist displaced tenants.
Also displaced was a local salon, Shear Bliss, which had been scheduled to re-locate to the ground level of the three-level house.
Kelly, a Toms River native who attended Lacey High School, held cosmetology licenses in Florida and New Jersey, according to her obituary. She worked at the London Hair Salon and Spa in Morristown.
“It was a pleasure having her here,” said spa owner Peter Kaphouris. He said Kelly’s family asked him not to comment further.
Kelly’s father, Lyle Smith, also declined to comment for this article, citing advice of an attorney.
Jared Tamasco said Kelly had begun looking for a second job in town, at restaurants and taverns.
According to Kelly’s obituary, she took pride in her work as a beautician and loved listening to music, reading books and engaging in late-night talks.
She is survived by her parents, Debra and Lyle Smith; sisters Nicole and Leanne; a niece, Leah; her maternal grandfather Paul and brother-in-law Brandon; aunts, uncles, many cousins, and “her beloved Alvaro.”
She was buried last week at Good Luck Cemetery in Lanoka Harbor, and her life was celebrated at the Captain’s Inn Tiki Bar, “where her wonderful smiles, spirit, joy and talents will be remembered,” the obituary said.
The Timothy E. Ryan Home for Funerals in Bayville said the family believed Kelly would have wished, in lieu of flowers, for donations to the family for organizations to assist with addiction prevention and education.
