The family of Kathleen Virginia McCaskey Kelly are holding a celebration for a life well lived at Christ Church Cathedral at 1:00 p.m. on Saturday, April 27, 2024. A reception at the church will follow. The family encourages the wearing of color to the celebration as Kathy loved bold bright colors.
Kathy died on April 18, 2024 in Birmingham, AL. She was 74. Kathy was born to parents Arden Kenneth McCaskey and Kathleen Louise “Billie” McCaskey in Mobile on December 10, 1949. She was a red-headed precocious child and after her sister Nita joined the family, Kathy naturally assumed the role of Nita’s biggest protector and champion which she maintained until her death. In middle school, Kathy met her lifelong best friend, Pat Sutton Greene, and the two have been inseparable ever since. Pat and Kathy served as second mothers to each other’s children, keepers of each other’s confidences, and sources of strength and humor for one another.
Kathy graduated from Murphy High School in 1967 and was a member of Phi Gamma Chi sorority. She married Tom Kelly in September 1970 and immediately demonstrated her distinctive maternal instinct by helping watch over his four younger brothers after the untimely death of their mother. Tom and Kathy experienced 54 years of a loving marriage and all that comes with such a genuine partnership.
Tom and Kathy have two children, Scott Kelly of Birmingham and Ashley Morris of Spanish Fort. Scott and Ashley were raised in a loving creative home filled with humor, practical jokes and a sense for what is right and wrong. Her greatest joy and sense of pride though came from being known as "NaeNae" and the love she shared with her three grandchildren: Maggie, Kate, and Hearne.
A true redhead throughout her life (or so we think), Kathy was bold, courageous, energetic, and fiercely passionate for her creative endeavors, causes she cared for, and most of all the people she collected over her lifetime. If you were lucky to be one of her people, you knew it. Kathy was particular about her organized home while also pursuing and nurturing her creative talents. One summer’s attempt to busy Scott and Ashley with pottery lessons at the Eastern Shore Art Association, when Kathy kindly praised their ugly pottery creations as art, resulted in Kathy learning ceramics. A hobby quickly turned into a ceramics business and Tom, Scott, and Ashley followed her around the southeast to arts and crafts shows and galleries that carried her pieces. An arm injury pushed Kathy to donate her wheels and kilns, but her creative spirit moved to her love of drawings and watercolor paintings. After co-owning a gift shop in Daphne for a short time, Kathy and a friend revitalized The Upham Gallery in Mobile which she later sold to focus more on her own watercolor paintings. Kathy also loved sewing and smocking. Once her grandchildren had more of her gowns and clothes than they could wear, Kathy would share her talents with other family members, friends and even donated her beautiful blankets to those in need. Kathy spent hours restoring family christening gowns to ensure their use for future generations and made fabric masks to donate during the global pandemic.
Kathy loved to travel and explore new places but few gave her as much joy as her home in Gulf Shores. She loved watching sunsets and appreciated each one as if it was more beautiful than the last. Kathy loved life and made it more fun for those she shared it with. Full of sage advice, Kathy always found a way to let you know how she felt in a direct, but kind way. She loved to chat. She never kept you guessing where you stood with her. If she held you close, as she did so many, then she fiercely protected you. She loved bold colors, beautiful flowers, and making others happy. She connected with most everyone she encountered and always ensured those around her felt special. Kathy loved her people. She was so loved and will be deeply missed by so many.
Kathy was predeceased by her parents. She is survived by her husband of 54 years, Thomas L. Kelly, III; her son, Thomas Scott Kelly, and his partner, Andrew Sparks; her daughter, Margaret Ashley Kelly Morris, and her fiancé, Jeff Nobles; three grandchildren, Margaret “Maggie” Farrell Morris, Kathleen “Kate” Louise Morris and Hearne Crockard Kelly; her sister, Anita Louise McCaskey Ruland; nephew Patrick Ruland, his wife Amanda, and their two children; nephew Ryan Ruland, his wife Elizabeth, and his family; brothers-in-law Bobby Kelly, Billy Kelly (Lura), Michael (Beverly) Kelly, and Danny Kelly and their respective families. Kathy’s family is grateful to Thomas McGee, MD, and his nurse Donna Richardson, both of whom provided her with compassionate care for decades. The family is also grateful to the caring doctors, nurses and staff at the UAB Palliative Care Unit for helping her to maintain dignity in the last days of her amazing life. In lieu of flowers, memorials may be made to the charity of your choosing or Christ Church Cathedral, Endowment Fund, 115 South Conception Street, Mobile, Alabama 36602.
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