Kelly was born in Birmingham, Ala. on Aug. 4, 1914 to Lillian Agnes and Lucius Chastain Allen.&bsp; She graduated from Ensley High School in Birmingham, where she was the class valedictorian, and attended Birmingham Southern College.

In November 1937, she married Thomas Jesse Kelly, an electrical engineer who became an electronics industry executive with Raytheon, General Dynamics Corp. and Scientific Atlanta. The couple retired to Hunting Woods in Tryon in the early1980s.

She was an avid landscape painter and enjoyed expressing her creativity in many other ways, such as sewing and flower arranging for which she won many awards. She was an enthusiastic golfer and a serious bridge player and was a long time member of the Tryon Country Club. She was a lifelong volunteer who served as a Girl Scout leader, a Cub Scout Den mother, and taught children with special needs.

Kelly is survived by her son Thomas Kelly and wife Cindy of New York, N.Y. and her daughter Nancy Hartwick and husband Gary of Roswell, N.M. She had four grandsons, Mark Kelly of Baltimore, Md, married to Kari Kelly, Andrew Kelly of Chicago, Ill., Timothy Hartwick of Santa Fe, N.M, and Jeffrey Hartwick of New Orleans, La.

A memorial service will be held Saturday, Sept. 13, 2008 at 10 a.m. in St. John the Baptist Catholic Church with Father Patrick Winslow officiating.

An online guest register may be signed at www.mcfarlandfuneralchapel.com.

McFarland Funeral Chapel of Tryon is in charge of arrangements.

‐ paid obituary