Margaret Elizabeth Kelley

KELLEY, MARGARET ELIZABETH - age 88 of Knoxville, died Tuesday, April 12, 2011 in Knoxville, TN. Born near Niota, Tennessee, August 25, 1922 to Corlie Mae Napier and William Parker Wilson. Margaret was a member of Gillespie Avenue Baptist Church and graduated from Knoxville High School in 1941. She married her childhood sweetheart, Paul Wilson Kelley November 29, 1941. Margaret was a loving, caring mother, grandmother and great-grandmother, and she kept up with all the children and grandchildren and knew what was going on in their lives. She enjoyed vacations to the South Carolina beaches, and she loved family gatherings. Margaret enjoyed gardening, needlework, sewing and housekeeping. She was interested in current events and loved to read biographies and the newspaper. She was thoughtful, wise, and frugal, but always generous. She loved to tell family stories, and she loved to laugh. Everyone was welcome in her home, and she was famous for her homemade chocolate pies, always bringing plenty to family gatherings. Margaret always saw the best in everyone and never had a bad word to say about anybody. She was loved dearly by everyone who knew her, and her family will cherish their memories of her love and the smile she always had. Preceded in death by her parents, Corlie Mae and Parker Wilson, and her husband of 45 years, Paul Kelley. Survivors: sons and daughters-in-law, Jerry and Judy Kelley and Paul Lynn and Susie Kelley; grandchildren, Parkey and Linda Kelley, Richard and Angelia Kelley, Scott and Tammy Kelley, Catherine and Douglas Barnett, Elizabeth and Hanson Tipton; great-grandchildren, Savannah, Justin, and Lindsay Kelley, Seth, Lezlee and Kara Kelley, Kimberlee Kelley and Courtney Prater, Victoria Barnett and Maggie Tipton; nieces and nephews, Mary Evelyn Jones, Jimmy and LeRoy Smelcher, Louise Miracle, Brenda and Charles Story, Cecil and Sandra Kelley, Carolyn and John Dobbs, Bob and Linda Kelly, Pat and Wint Beeler; special friends, Sarah Kelley, Della Davis, Irene Cupp and Grace Felker. The family will receive friends Saturday, April 16, from 12:00 - 1:30 at Stevens Mortuary. Rev. Brent Hall will lead a celebration of her life at 1:30 in Stevens Chapel. Graveside service will follow at Lynnhurst Cemetery. Pallbearers are Parkey Kelley, Richard Kelley, Scott Kelley, Hanson Tipton, Douglas Barnett, and Charles Story. Donations may be made in her memory to Saint Jude Children's Research Hospital, 501 St. Jude Place, Memphis, TN 38105. Serving the family of Mrs. Kelley, Stevens Mortuary, Oglewood Avenue at N. Broadway. Please share your memories with the family at www.stevensmortuaryinc.com.