James Donaldson (J.D.) Kelley, 85, of 480 Auburn Road, Waynesville, N.C., died peacefully Tuesday afternoon at Memorial Mission Hospital in Asheville, N.C., after a brief illness. A native and lifelong resident of Haywood County, he was the son of the late David Donaldson Kelley and Mary Emma Gordon Kelley. He was also preceded in death by a son, Richard Dale Kelley, in 2009.
He was born on Christmas Day 1926 and was a 1945 graduate of Waynesville Township High School and a World War II veteran. He served in the US Army from June 1945 to February 1947 during which time he was stationed in Italy. He received the World War II Victory Medal and the Army of Occupation Medal. After his military service he was employed by Dixie Homes Stores in Waynesville as a butcher and later store manager. In 1953 he began a 38-year career with the North Carolina Department of Agriculture where he served as a poultry inspector for the NCDA Poultry Division until his retirement in 1992.
He had been a member of First Baptist Church in Waynesville since his baptism in 1941 and was a former deacon and Sunday school teacher. In addition to his professional career, he was a skilled mechanic and musician. He was an original member of the Blue Valley Boys bluegrass band which won the Saturday Night roundup competition in the late 1930s and 1940s and which in more recent years played intermittently at gatherings around Haywood County.
On Aug. 28, 1948 he married Allie Mae Abercrombie in Pickens, S.C., and began his 63-year romance with the love of his life. He enjoyed camping, playing and listening to blue grass music, eating breakfast with his friends at local restaurants and visiting friends and family. He was deeply devoted to his beloved family and was a remarkable husband, father and grandfather. Always with a smile, a kind word and a quick humor, he was a friend to all who knew him.
He is survived by his beloved wife, Allie Mae Abercrombie Kelley; his children, Reba Miller (Ron) of Raleigh, N.C., James Donaldson "Don" Kelley, Jr. of Akron, Ohio, and Dr. William Terry Kelley (Christine) of Waynesville; his grandchildren, Amy Miller Cave (Mike) of Raleigh, William "Will" David Miller (Julie) of Lincolnwood, Ill., James Richard "Jim" Kelley of Carrollton, and Crystal Leigh Kelley of Miramar Beach, Fla., and his great-grandchildren, Logan and Ayden Cave of Raleigh, Tate, Quinn and Leo Miller of Lincolnwood, Ill., Christopher Kelley of Villa Rica and Tristen Kelley of LaGrange.
He is also survived by two brothers and sisters-in-law, Joe and Kay Kelley and Jack and Vivian Kelley of Waynesville, sisters-in-law Virginia Kuykendall and Betty Abercrombie of Hendersonville, Winifred Abercrombie of Seneca, S.C., and a brother-in-law, James Lewis of Florence, S.C.; nephews Ed Kelley of Waynesville, Phil Kelley of Mars Hill, Harrison Abercrombie of Walhalla, S.C., John Abercrombie of Conway, S.C., Edward Abercrombie of Madison, Tenn., nieces Mary Jo Reece of Canton, Shirley Franklin of Morganton, Emily Nelson of Waynesville, and Ginger Waters of Inman, S.C., as well as several great-nephews and nieces.
He was born on Christmas Day 1926 and was a 1945 graduate of Waynesville Township High School and a World War II veteran. He served in the US Army from June 1945 to February 1947 during which time he was stationed in Italy. He received the World War II Victory Medal and the Army of Occupation Medal. After his military service he was employed by Dixie Homes Stores in Waynesville as a butcher and later store manager. In 1953 he began a 38-year career with the North Carolina Department of Agriculture where he served as a poultry inspector for the NCDA Poultry Division until his retirement in 1992.
He had been a member of First Baptist Church in Waynesville since his baptism in 1941 and was a former deacon and Sunday school teacher. In addition to his professional career, he was a skilled mechanic and musician. He was an original member of the Blue Valley Boys bluegrass band which won the Saturday Night roundup competition in the late 1930s and 1940s and which in more recent years played intermittently at gatherings around Haywood County.
On Aug. 28, 1948 he married Allie Mae Abercrombie in Pickens, S.C., and began his 63-year romance with the love of his life. He enjoyed camping, playing and listening to blue grass music, eating breakfast with his friends at local restaurants and visiting friends and family. He was deeply devoted to his beloved family and was a remarkable husband, father and grandfather. Always with a smile, a kind word and a quick humor, he was a friend to all who knew him.
He is survived by his beloved wife, Allie Mae Abercrombie Kelley; his children, Reba Miller (Ron) of Raleigh, N.C., James Donaldson "Don" Kelley, Jr. of Akron, Ohio, and Dr. William Terry Kelley (Christine) of Waynesville; his grandchildren, Amy Miller Cave (Mike) of Raleigh, William "Will" David Miller (Julie) of Lincolnwood, Ill., James Richard "Jim" Kelley of Carrollton, and Crystal Leigh Kelley of Miramar Beach, Fla., and his great-grandchildren, Logan and Ayden Cave of Raleigh, Tate, Quinn and Leo Miller of Lincolnwood, Ill., Christopher Kelley of Villa Rica and Tristen Kelley of LaGrange.
He is also survived by two brothers and sisters-in-law, Joe and Kay Kelley and Jack and Vivian Kelley of Waynesville, sisters-in-law Virginia Kuykendall and Betty Abercrombie of Hendersonville, Winifred Abercrombie of Seneca, S.C., and a brother-in-law, James Lewis of Florence, S.C.; nephews Ed Kelley of Waynesville, Phil Kelley of Mars Hill, Harrison Abercrombie of Walhalla, S.C., John Abercrombie of Conway, S.C., Edward Abercrombie of Madison, Tenn., nieces Mary Jo Reece of Canton, Shirley Franklin of Morganton, Emily Nelson of Waynesville, and Ginger Waters of Inman, S.C., as well as several great-nephews and nieces.
James Donaldson (J.D.) Kelley, 85, of 480 Auburn Road, Waynesville, N.C., died peacefully Tuesday afternoon at Memorial Mission Hospital in Asheville, N.C., after a brief illness. A native and lifelong resident of Haywood County, he was the son of the late David Donaldson Kelley and Mary Emma Gordon Kelley. He was also preceded in death by a son, Richard Dale Kelley, in 2009.
He was born on Christmas Day 1926 and was a 1945 graduate of Waynesville Township High School and a World War II veteran. He served in the US Army from June 1945 to February 1947 during which time he was stationed in Italy. He received the World War II Victory Medal and the Army of Occupation Medal. After his military service he was employed by Dixie Homes Stores in Waynesville as a butcher and later store manager. In 1953 he began a 38-year career with the North Carolina Department of Agriculture where he served as a poultry inspector for the NCDA Poultry Division until his retirement in 1992.
He had been a member of First Baptist Church in Waynesville since his baptism in 1941 and was a former deacon and Sunday school teacher. In addition to his professional career, he was a skilled mechanic and musician. He was an original member of the Blue Valley Boys bluegrass band which won the Saturday Night roundup competition in the late 1930s and 1940s and which in more recent years played intermittently at gatherings around Haywood County.
On Aug. 28, 1948 he married Allie Mae Abercrombie in Pickens, S.C., and began his 63-year romance with the love of his life. He enjoyed camping, playing and listening to blue grass music, eating breakfast with his friends at local restaurants and visiting friends and family. He was deeply devoted to his beloved family and was a remarkable husband, father and grandfather. Always with a smile, a kind word and a quick humor, he was a friend to all who knew him.
He is survived by his beloved wife, Allie Mae Abercrombie Kelley; his children, Reba Miller (Ron) of Raleigh, N.C., James Donaldson "Don" Kelley, Jr. of Akron, Ohio, and Dr. William Terry Kelley (Christine) of Waynesville; his grandchildren, Amy Miller Cave (Mike) of Raleigh, William "Will" David Miller (Julie) of Lincolnwood, Ill., James Richard "Jim" Kelley of Carrollton, and Crystal Leigh Kelley of Miramar Beach, Fla., and his great-grandchildren, Logan and Ayden Cave of Raleigh, Tate, Quinn and Leo Miller of Lincolnwood, Ill., Christopher Kelley of Villa Rica and Tristen Kelley of LaGrange.
He is also survived by two brothers and sisters-in-law, Joe and Kay Kelley and Jack and Vivian Kelley of Waynesville, sisters-in-law Virginia Kuykendall and Betty Abercrombie of Hendersonville, Winifred Abercrombie of Seneca, S.C., and a brother-in-law, James Lewis of Florence, S.C.; nephews Ed Kelley of Waynesville, Phil Kelley of Mars Hill, Harrison Abercrombie of Walhalla, S.C., John Abercrombie of Conway, S.C., Edward Abercrombie of Madison, Tenn., nieces Mary Jo Reece of Canton, Shirley Franklin of Morganton, Emily Nelson of Waynesville, and Ginger Waters of Inman, S.C., as well as several great-nephews and nieces.
He was born on Christmas Day 1926 and was a 1945 graduate of Waynesville Township High School and a World War II veteran. He served in the US Army from June 1945 to February 1947 during which time he was stationed in Italy. He received the World War II Victory Medal and the Army of Occupation Medal. After his military service he was employed by Dixie Homes Stores in Waynesville as a butcher and later store manager. In 1953 he began a 38-year career with the North Carolina Department of Agriculture where he served as a poultry inspector for the NCDA Poultry Division until his retirement in 1992.
He had been a member of First Baptist Church in Waynesville since his baptism in 1941 and was a former deacon and Sunday school teacher. In addition to his professional career, he was a skilled mechanic and musician. He was an original member of the Blue Valley Boys bluegrass band which won the Saturday Night roundup competition in the late 1930s and 1940s and which in more recent years played intermittently at gatherings around Haywood County.
On Aug. 28, 1948 he married Allie Mae Abercrombie in Pickens, S.C., and began his 63-year romance with the love of his life. He enjoyed camping, playing and listening to blue grass music, eating breakfast with his friends at local restaurants and visiting friends and family. He was deeply devoted to his beloved family and was a remarkable husband, father and grandfather. Always with a smile, a kind word and a quick humor, he was a friend to all who knew him.
He is survived by his beloved wife, Allie Mae Abercrombie Kelley; his children, Reba Miller (Ron) of Raleigh, N.C., James Donaldson "Don" Kelley, Jr. of Akron, Ohio, and Dr. William Terry Kelley (Christine) of Waynesville; his grandchildren, Amy Miller Cave (Mike) of Raleigh, William "Will" David Miller (Julie) of Lincolnwood, Ill., James Richard "Jim" Kelley of Carrollton, and Crystal Leigh Kelley of Miramar Beach, Fla., and his great-grandchildren, Logan and Ayden Cave of Raleigh, Tate, Quinn and Leo Miller of Lincolnwood, Ill., Christopher Kelley of Villa Rica and Tristen Kelley of LaGrange.
He is also survived by two brothers and sisters-in-law, Joe and Kay Kelley and Jack and Vivian Kelley of Waynesville, sisters-in-law Virginia Kuykendall and Betty Abercrombie of Hendersonville, Winifred Abercrombie of Seneca, S.C., and a brother-in-law, James Lewis of Florence, S.C.; nephews Ed Kelley of Waynesville, Phil Kelley of Mars Hill, Harrison Abercrombie of Walhalla, S.C., John Abercrombie of Conway, S.C., Edward Abercrombie of Madison, Tenn., nieces Mary Jo Reece of Canton, Shirley Franklin of Morganton, Emily Nelson of Waynesville, and Ginger Waters of Inman, S.C., as well as several great-nephews and nieces.
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