Kelly Lynn Gater

Kelly Lynn Gater, 64, passed away on Wednesday, February 21, 2024 at Chautauqua Health and Rehabilitation Center. Kelly was born on June 29, 1959 in Salem, Indiana to Charles and Karen Gater. She lived in Salem with her parents and great-grandmother, Mazo Mead until 1966 when the family moved to Louisville, KY. This occurred when Kelly was accepted into the Binet School which offered programming for disabled children. She lived in Louisville until 2006 when she and her family moved to Owensboro, KY to be closer to her sister’s family.

Kelly was so proud when her younger sister, Teresa, was born in 1970. She was a devoted and loving older sister. She was also especially close to her nieces, Emily, Rebecca, and Cara. She was so proud to become an aunt and loved them dearly. Kelly had a special fondness for her brother-in-law, Gary. Gary could always make her smile and she always listened to what he had to say.

 Kelly loved family, friends, her soaps (especially Young and the Restless), country music, and Elvis. Her summers as a child were often spent with her cousins, Mike, Lisa and Traci. They were so important to her. Kelly also loved going to her Grandma Gater’s house in Salem and spending time with her and her maternal grandfather, Lotus Garriott. Kelly belonged to a group for disabled young adults in Louisville, where she loved visiting with her many friends and “going dancing”. Although Kelly struggled with her disabilities, she enjoyed life and her family and friends to the fullest. In recent years, as her health faded, she still kept her faith in God and was strong and loving until the end.

 Kelly was preceded in death by her father, Charles Gater, her grandparents, Oscar and Lucille Gater and Lotus and Geneva Garriott, her great grandmother, Mazo Mead, who lived with Kelly’s family for many years, her uncles, Gary Gater and Lyle Milner, and her aunts, Norma Rison and Shari Gater. 

She is survived by her mother, Karen Gater of Owensboro, sister, Teresa Smith (Gary) of Cloverport; nieces Emily and Rebecca Smith of Louisville and Cara Pence (Seth) of Owensboro, her aunt, Carol Ann Milner of Bismarck, IL and close cousins Mike Jackson and Lisa Johnson (Dave) of Williamsport, Indiana and Traci Hill (Dave) of Vincennes, Indiana.

 A private service will be held at Glenn Funeral Home and Crematory in Owensboro with family burial following at Crown Hill Cemetery in Salem, Indiana

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