Everett Kelley

Everett Edward Kelley, passed away at his residence in Nashville on Tuesday, the 31st of December 2019, after a brief illness at the age of 92.
Preceded in death by his wife, Eleanor Clark Kelley; his parents, Mary Palmer Wade Sperry of Nashville, Tennessee, and Everett Edward Kelley, M.D. of Owensboro, Kentucky and Suwanee, Georgia; by his only sibling, James Palmer Kelley; and his brother-in-law, George Crook, of Nashville. Mr. Kelley was a descendant of the Joseph Philips family who settled in Nashville in 1791, one of the First Families of Tennessee.
Born in 1927, Everett Kelley spent his childhood with his brother, mother, devoted grandparents, Josephine and Alton Wade, and uncle, James P. "Buddy" Wade, at his family home in Belle Meade and at the farmhouse in Smyrna, Tennessee, that his family moved to in 1931. He attended Parmer School, McCallie School in Chattanooga, and Peabody Demonstration School with his future wife but enlisted in the Navy as a Naval Aviator in November 1945, before graduating from high school in 1946.
He served in Fighting Squadron Sixty-Three, the first squadron to fly F4U Corsair planes, and operated off of the U.S.S. Boxer, the U.S.S. Valley Forge and the U.S.S. Phillipine Sea. Mr. Kelley served in the Korean War, joined the Naval Reserves, and was honorably discharged from the Naval Reserves in 1983.
Mr. Kelley graduated from Vanderbilt University in March 1953, with a degree in Geology. He married Eleanor Wills Clark of Nashville just after graduation and secured his first job as a Time and Motion Engineer for Mays Hosiery Mill in Nashville. Later he worked at WSM-TV, soon moving over to the National Life and Accident Insurance Company, where he had a long career. He retired early in 1977, having been an early computer programmer and later an officer in the personnel department. As he had wide-ranging intellectual interests, he pursued his Master's Degree in Education from George Peabody College at Vanderbilt University, which he received in 1958, and also graduated in 1979 from the YMCA Night Law School in Nashville.
While a Nashville resident, he was a familiar figure at gun shows, flea markets, antique shops, and most of all, at Goodwill Stores. He was a connoisseur of World War II arms and weapons, silver, porcelain, and gems. In 1997, the Kelleys sold their Brentwood, Tennessee, farm and moved to Mississippi, where two of his daughters lived, but returned to Tennessee in 2005.
Mr. Kelley was actively involved in Nashville with Tennessee Gun Collectors, Junior Achievement, and was a longtime Red Cross donor. In Mississippi, he enjoyed spending time at the Rescue Squad and Flowood Library. He was a ham radio operator, an avid reader, especially of military history, and a world traveler who particularly enjoyed Alaska, Costa Rica and the Virgin Islands.
Survivors include six children: Craig (Mrs. Ken Adkisson) of Franklin, Tennessee; Josephine (Mrs. John Darwin III), Alton (Sheree Rose Kelley); Jessie Kelley; and Ed Kelley (Mandy Brown Kelley) all of Nashville; and Phoebe (Mrs. Stephen Kruger, Sr.) of Jackson, Mississippi. He is also survived by his sisters-in-law, Shirley (Kelley) Boone of Asheville, North Carolina; Em Crook; and Phoebe Nischan and brother-in-law, Marvin Nischan, all of Nashville; by 14 grandchildren and 5 great-grandchildren, as well as by 3 nieces and 4 nephews.
Visitation with the family will be Saturday, January 11th, at the home of Alton Kelley, 637 Belle Park Circle, Nashville TN 37205 from 1:00pm-3:00pm.
Funeral service and burial will be private. Memorial contributions may be made to the City of Flowood Fire Department, Emergency Rescue Service, 511 Vine Street, Flowood, MS 39232, or to the G. Chastaine Flynt Memorial Library at 103 Winners Circle, Flowood, MS 39232.
Williamson Memorial Funeral Home is in charge of arrangements, 615-794-2289 www.williamsonmemorial.com

Visitation Details

Saturday, January 11th, 2020 1:00pm - 3:00pm