Kellie D. Blair

Kellie Blair passed away peacefully in her sleep on the morning of June 25, 2025 after a brief illness. She was 57 years old.

Born on October 26, 1967 in Akron, Ohio, Kellie was raised in Cuyahoga Falls, where she could often be found outside playing with her neighborhood friends as she was always bright and enthusiastic about everything she was involved with.

As a member of Northampton United Methodist Church, she enjoyed her summer camp experiences at Camp Asbury but especially her time as a teenager at Lakeside Institute, which was her happy place. She made countless lifelong friends as well as meeting her future partner, Karl Stewart, while there.

She was employed at a variety of administrative positions for the past 35 years that began in Bedford, when she moved in to assist her grandmother as she fought a battle with throat cancer and won. Most recently she worked at Custom Movers Services where they generously allowed her to work from home since 2020.

While living with her grandparents in Columbus, she met her former husband, Ed Watson, with whom she shared a valued friendship until the end. Ed will forever be grateful for all the research she did in finding doctors who performed the surgery that reversed his epilepsy that altered his life.

Ed also took Kellie to a Dayton Bombers hockey game that changed her world. Kellie discovered she loved the sport and after attending a Cleveland Monsters hockey game watching her nephew march on the ice with his high school marching band, she got season tickets for the weekend home games during the past 3 seasons that she attended with her partner, Karl.

Along with hockey, Kellie enjoyed heading to the racetrack at El Dora Speedway with Karl. They would often camp and spend a nice week watching dirt track racing with friends.

She also enjoyed card-marking, scrapbooking, family get-togethers and anything that had to do with her niece and nephew, Maggie and Bobby. She also enjoyed going to Pennsylvania seeing her nieces through Karl, Jordan and Jaedyn, and her niece and nephews with Edgar, Kelly, Jason, and Brian.

Kellie was preceded in death by her mom, Cindy Blair; her grandparents, Alberta & Jim Metzger, and Leroy and Anna Blair; her Aunt Teri; cousins, Tommy and Jaclyn; and her longtime pups Moochie, Tiger, and Charlie.
She is survived by her longtime partner, Karl Stewart; her father, Bob Blair; sister Becky (Jeremy) Shaddix; her former husband, Ed Watson; 4 nieces, 3 nephews, 2 uncles, 1 aunt, several cousins, and numerous friends.

The funeral will take place on Tuesday, July 1, 2025 at 1:00 p.m., at the Eckard Baldwin Funeral Home and Chapel, 760 E. Market St., Akron, OH 44305, with Pastor Ron Shultz officiating. Visitation will be at the funeral home for two hours prior to the service, from 11 a.m. - 1 p.m.

Please share your thoughts and condolences by visiting her Tribute Wall above.