Adina Kelley

Adina Tonetta Kelley (Johnson) died peacefully Friday, February 7, 2025 after a brief but arduous bout with cancer. She was born August 5, 1986 in Maplewood, Minnesota, and grew up in Tucson, Arizona, before returning to her home state for college at the University of Northwestern - St. Paul (BA, '09). She earned a PhD ('19) in American history at Baylor University in Waco, Texas, where she also met and married her husband Sam. In Waco the Kelleys welcomed a son and a daughter and then promptly returned to Minnesota, where Adina began teaching history at her alma mater in 2020. In all things, a Christ-powered love for people motivated Adina. She cherished her students and taught them to love history. She loved spending time with her husband, children, extended family, and church family at Resurrection Anglican in Robbinsdale, MN. Adina was a talented baker and crochetier, and she was enthusiastic about musical theater and reality television shows (especially Survivor). She planned amazing birthday parties for her children and pulled out all the stops when she decorated her home for Christmas and Easter. A memorial service is scheduled for 10 AM, Saturday, February 15, 2025, at the Knight Performance Hall on the University of Northwestern campus in Roseville, MN. In lieu of flowers prayers for her family are much appreciated, as are donations to her family's Go Fund Me: https://gofund.me/e84fdd14.