Nancy Kelly

Obituary Nancy Elizabeth Kelly, Beaufort, passed away Monday, January 29, 2018. Nancy lived 89 rich and fulfilled years and was devoted to her family and her faith in God. Nancy was affectionately known as "Nana" to her grandchildren. Her life will be celebrated at a service at Core Creek United Methodist Church, 124 Hardesty Loop Road, Hwy 101, Newport, NC, on Saturday, February 3, 2018, at 2:00 pm with Reverend Judy Cline Billings presiding. Nancy was a child of the Great Depression, born in Grundy, Virginia, on Sept. 3, 1928, to Elihu Looney and Rosa Matney Looney of Patterson, Buchanan County, Virginia. Life taught her the value of hard work and a loving family. The eldest of six children, the "coal miners daughter" raised her brothers and sisters while her parents labored in their home, their farm, local coal mines, and in Civilian Conservation Corps work projects. Nancy attended elementary in the rural one-room schoolhouse in Patterson. She graduated from Grundy High School in 1947. From these humble beginnings, she attended the Lewis-Gale School of Nursing in Roanoke, Virginia, where Nancy graduated as a Registered Nurse in 1950. It was while a nursing student that she met and fell in love with a dashing young Marine from Texas who was a patient at Lewis-Gale Hospital. After a storybook romance and courtship, Nancy married the love of her life, then Sergeant Fred Latham Kelly, USMC. The couple was wed in a private ceremony in Smithfield, Johnston County, North Carolina, in May, 1950. Freds military career took the couple to Memphis, Tennessee, Brooklyn, New York, and to Cherry Point, North Carolina. It was while stationed at Cherry Point that the couple discovered the community of Core Creek and the warm, embracing fellowship of its residents. It became the spot where the Kellys put down roots and raised their three children, Laura Lee Kelly Smith, James Michael Kelly, and Donald Paul Kelly. As leaders in the local community, Nancy and Fred were active members of the Core Creek Methodist Church and were participants in their kids lives. They were leaders in the Cub Scouts, Boy Scouts, and the Methodist Youth Fellowship. There they taught the youth of the community the same moral values that had borne them both through their austere childhood days of the Depression. Nancy continued her nursing career in Carteret County. She worked as a County School Nurse before taking employment at the Carteret County Health Department. Before her retirement in or about 1990, she ran the Glaucoma Screening and Womens Health Clinics for the Carteret County Health Department. In retirement, she passed a love of quilting from her mother down to her future generations and enjoyed her membership in the Crystal Coast Quilters Guild. Nancy is survived by her children Laura Lee Smith of Wake Forest; Michael, and his wife, Anita, of Lacombe, LA; Paul, and his wife, Sally, of Beaufort; and her sister, Faye, and husband, Harold Bowman, of Rosedale, VA. Nancys legacy will live on through her adored grandchildren, Kelly, and husband, Garrett Stanly, of Louisburg, NC; Tracie, and husband, Brian MacKenna, of Arnold, MD; Madelyn, and husband, Adam Craig, of Evansville, IN; and Matthew of Lacombe, LA; step grandchildren, Rick, and wife, Liz DySard of Wake Forest, NC; and Tim, and wife, Brenda DySard of Apex, NC. Nancy adored her great grandchildren Jeffrey Strickland, Molly and Tyler Stanly, and Dylan and Elliott (Ellie) MacKenna, and step grandchildren Kyndall, Brayden, Bradley, Ryan, and Lauren DySard. There will be a period of visitation with the family following the service in the Core Creek Community Building at the church. Mrs. Kelly was preceded in death by her husband, CWO-3 Fred Latham Kelly, USMC (Ret), her parents, Elihu and Rosa Looney, and four brothers, Emmit, Kenneth, Creade, and Freddie Looney. Nancys family respectfully requests that in lieu of flowers, memorials, in Nancys name, be made to Core Creek United Methodist Church Building Fund, 124 Hardesty Loop Road, Newport, NC 28570, or to Hope For The Warriors, 8003 Forbes Pl, Suite 201, Springfield, VA 22151. Memorial Service 2:00 PM ,Saturday, February 3, 2018 Core Creek United Methodist Church 124 Hardesty Loop Road Newport, NC, Carteret 28557 Gathering of Family and Friends 2:30 PM ,Saturday, February 3, 2018 Community House 124 Hardesty Loop Road Newport, NC, Carteret 28570 Services You can still show your support by sending flowers directly to the family, or by planting a memorial tree in the memory of Nancy Kelly