Frances Marcella Woodfin Kelley, age 85, passed away on April 18, 2010.
She was the widow of Walter DeKalb Kelley, Sr. cofounder of Metro Machine Corporation.
Frances was born in Uniontown, Alabama to the late Arthur Paschal Woodfin and Eugenia Carolyn Thigpen Woodfin. She was a graduate of The University of Monte-
vallo.
She and Walter Kelley, Sr. moved to Norfolk in 1950 when Mr. Kelley was called up as a United States Naval Officer during the Korean War.
They remained in Norfolk after he completed his military service.
An avid gardener, Frances was a member of the Algonquin Park Garden Club and served on the Board of Directors of the Norfolk Botanical Garden.
She was also an active member of Larchmont Baptist Church and the Sharing Circle supporting the Children’s Hospital of the King’s Daughters.
She is survived by three children: Walter DeKalb Kelley, Jr. (Jennifer) of Alexandria, Virginia, Arthur Woodfin Kelley (Elizabeth) of Raleigh, North Carolina and Carolyn
Marie Kelley of Norfolk.
She is also survived by five grandchildren: Whitmore Woodfin Kelley, Catherine Taylor Kelley, Walter Thurman Kelley II, Collier Taylor Kelley, and Charlotte Gardner Kelley; also two brothers: Arthur Lunsford Woodfin of Selma, Alabama and James Paschal Woodfin of Uniontown Alabama.
She was proceeded in death by her sister Carolyn Rebecca Woodfin Weissinger.
A Memorial Service in Frances’s memory was held at Larchmont Baptist Church on Friday, April 23 at 11:30 am. Friends were invited to a reception immediately thereafter
at the Norfolk Yacht and Country Club.
The family asks that, in lieu of flowers, memorials be made in Frances’s name to the Norfolk Botanical Garden Foundation, 6700 Azalea Garden Road, Norfolk, VA.
23518.
Arrangements were handled by the H.D. Oliver Funeral Apartments, Norfolk, Norfolk Chapel.
Online condolences may be offered to the family through hdoliver.com.