Josephine Walker Kelley, of Fayetteville, passed away Sunday, April 16, 2023. She was 91 years old.
Mrs. Kelley was born on Nov. 24, 1931, in Chattanooga, Tennessee. She was the second of four daughters born to Stella Turner Walker and Charles Benjamin Walker. She was a graduate of the University of Chattanooga, where she was a member of Alpha Delta Pi sorority and the Mortar Board Honor Society. Following graduation, she married Paul Benson Kelley and went to work for the Tennessee Valley Authority as a cartographic engineering aide. When Paul received his regular Army commission, Mrs. Kelley became an Army wife for the next 23 years, living at more than a dozen Army posts in the United States, along with three years in Augsburg and Munich, Germany. After her two sons were grown, she worked for the Fort Bragg School System for 15 years. Josephine was a longtime member of Snyder Memorial Baptist Church and the Faithful Workers Sunday School Class.
She was preceded in death by her son, Dr. William Andrew Kelley; her beloved husband of 58 years, retired Lt. Col. Paul Benson Kelley; and older sister, Betty Lambardo. She is survived by her son, Paul Benson Kelley Jr., and his wife, Laura Kelley, of Wake Forest, N.C.; sisters, Mary Traxel of Poplar Bluff, Missouri, and Helen Montjoy of Utica, Kentucky; eight grandchildren, Andrew Kelley (Jessi), Evan Kelley, Kathryn Kelley, Georgia Kelley, Jake Kelley (Audrey), Luke Kelley, Rebecca Homick (Jason), and Rachel Kelley; and four great-grandsons, Will, Carden, Kyle, and Elijah.
Funeral services will be on Thursday, April 20, 2023, at Jernigan-Warren Funeral Home with visitation at 10 a.m. and service at 11 a.m. The burial will be at Sandhills State Veterans Cemetery in Spring Lake at noon.
In lieu of flowers, contributions may be made to the Philadelphia Ministry or operation Inasmuch at Snyder Memorial Baptist Church, 701 Westmont Drive, Fayetteville, NC 28305.
Services provided by Jernigan-Warren Funeral Home, 545 Ramsey St., Fayetteville, NC 28301
Online condolences may be sent to http://www.jerniganwarren.com