He was born on May 11th, 1977 to Marguerite “Maggie” Burkart and Clifford Daugherty in Kansas City, Missouri and grew up in De Kalb, Missouri.
Kelly graduated from De Kalb High School and shortly afterwards he joined the U.S. Navy. As a Seabee he traveled throughout the world while serving. During his service as a Seabee, Kelly made lifelong friendships, created priceless memories, and kept his fellow Seabees laughing with all of his shenanigans. Kelly lived his entire life with their “Can Do” motto. After serving in the Navy, Kelly attended MWSU in Saint Joseph, MO.
Beginning in April of 2022, Kelly started working for TransPort360. Kelly loved his job, worked hard and flourished. As a result, he was quickly promoted to Port Manager in Kansas City, MO. Kelly was very proud of the work he accomplished there and of the team he led.
He was a dedicated member of Alcoholics Anonymous (AA) and was committed to his sobriety journey. Kelly was passionate about his service work and helping others. His honesty, kindness, respect, and welcoming nature was a gift to others in the program and will continue to serve as an inspiration to others.
Kelly enjoyed spending free time with his family, woodworking, whittling, watching inappropriate cartoons, and drinking as much coffee as humanly possible.
In July of 2020, Kelly met the love of his life, Sonya. He proposed just 3 short months after their first date. He knew from that moment that she was the one. Together, they created a beautiful blended family with their children and grandchildren. The family refers to themselves as the “The Modern Brady Bunch.”
He is survived by his wife, Sonya Daugherty, his children Kerstie Daugherty, Kyanne Daugherty, and Andy Daugherty along with his newly gained daughters, Whitney Ithongo (Peter) and Courtney Jackson, and his two granddaughters, Adrianna Ithongo and Sophia Stevenson. Kelly is also survived by his mother, Maggie Burkart, father, Cliff Daugherty (Nanette), and sisters Kattie Hollay and Megan Martin (Ted). Kelly will be reunited with his brother Kenny, his sister Kathy, grandparents William and JoAnn Bingham, George and Roberta Jean Daugherty, and many other loved ones.
The family would like to thank you all for your care and compassion, and for all of the love and support shown to Kelly. He felt extremely loved during this time. Kelly will be deeply missed and forever remembered. As his fellow Seabees would say - Til Valhalla.
Kelly’s celebration of life will take place Saturday, July 22nd, from 1pm-5pm at Mt. Moriah, Newcomer & Freeman Funeral Home, 10507 Holmes Rd, Kansas City, MO 64131. Visitation will be from 1pm-2pm, Services from 2pm-3pm, and a reception with light refreshments from 3pm-5pm.
If you have family or friends who will need to travel to attend services, they offer travel arrangement assistance through the Dignity Memorial Bereavement Travel Program. Just call 1-800-224-4177 to speak with a travel specialist. Should the specialist ask for a reference number or code, please provide 2373. They also have a local agreement at the Sonesta Select for hotel accommodations. Their number is 816-941-3333.
In lieu of flowers, please consider making a donation to Kelly’s family https://gofund.me/7fa299ce or to Valley Hope Recovery https://valleyhope.org/locations/kansas/
