Bessie Neely Keaton Connolly

Bessie Neely Keaton Connolly, born July 8, 1909, in Fayette County, West Virginia, died peacefully in her sleep on February 24, 2011, at her home on Players Club Drive in Charleston, WV. She is survived by her daughter, Genevieve Keaton Halstead and her son-in-law, James E. Halstead, formerly of Beckley but residents of Charleston since 1961. Her grandsons are James E. Halstead II of Teays Valley, WV, Mark Keaton Halstead of Conley Springs, NC, John Wesley Halstead of Charleston, David Matthew Halstead of Kernersville, NC, Daniel Edward Keaton of Bloomfield Hills, MI, Donald Eugene Keaton of Dearborn Heights, MI, Robert Fulcher Keaton of Oregon, and Hank W. Hertz of Seattle, WA. Her granddaughters are Rebecca Halstead Kimmons and Sarah Halstead Boland of Charleston, and Anita Curry of Arizona. Her descendents, including 24 great-grandchildren and 14 great-great grandchildren, are business owners and managers, computer systems designers, graphic and web designers, artists, singers, actors, poets, writers, songwriters, musicians and composers living in Chicago, San Francisco, Austin, Texas, Florida, Georgia, Michigan, Virginia, Washington, and West Virginia. She was preceded in death by her daughter, Elizabeth Josephine Kenney, of Asheville, NC, who died on January 28, 2011; husband, Hugh Keaton, Jr.; father, Walter Lee Neely; mother, Lorena Shawver Neely; brothers Virgil, Boyd, Lawrence, and Nathan; and sister, Lorene Richmond. She grew up on her family’s Summers County farm that is now part of Pipestem State Park. During World War II, she worked at Chrysler Corporation in Detroit, Michigan, and later, at Boeing Aircraft in Los Angeles, California. Her career in Las Vegas, Nevada, and Ft. Lauderdale, Florida, included care-giving and fashion sales positions. In 1979, she returned to the Charleston area where she worked at The Diamond, and provided care for Mr. Donald Morris until his death. She resided at Kenna Homes from 1987until 2006. She was a woman of many facets who was full of surprises, adventure, and fun. She loved roses, fashionable clothes, high-heeled shoes that sparkled, and believed that a little wine was good for the stomach. She sometimes created limelight where none existed before. She played piano and guitar, and loved to exercise. Walking was her passion. She loved her daughters, her grandchildren and their children. Her hold on life was as strong as her steely grip. She was a wild Irish rose, and she will be missed by all who knew and loved her. Charlene Johnson and Denise Lambert expertly, lovingly cared for her at the end of her life. The family also extends grateful appreciation to Kanawha Valley Senior Services, and Kanawha Valley Hospice. A memorial service will be held at 1 p.m. Sunday, March 6, at her church, South Charleston First Presbyterian, 508 Second Avenue, South Charleston. Visitation will precede the service, from 12 o’clock until 12:50 p.m. Her ashes will be entombed at Blue Ridge Memorial Gardens Mausoleum in Beckley, WV, where a short service will be held at the time of commitment. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to South Charleston First Presbyterian Church to help establish the Bessie Neely Keaton Youth Arts Scholarship Fund. Snodgrass Funeral Home is in charge of arrangements.