Melba Kelley

Melba Sibbella Kelley, 90, of High Ridge Missouri and former Lawrence resident died Saturday, March 5, 2011, at St. Clare Health Center, Fenton, MO. She passed away peacefully surrounded by her family.

Melba was born Dec. 7, 1920, in Jefferson County, Oklahoma, the daughter of Charles and Sibbellah (Wilson) Fulton and attended  Addington Schools.  She married Arnold L. Proctor in 1936 and they had a daughter, Charlene.  They were divorced in 1960.  In 1963 she married  W. Keith Kelley,  WWII veteran and former Principal  of Haskell Indian Junior College. Though an active member of the Southside Church of Christ,  Lawrence Pilot Club, and Knife and Fork Club, Melba’s truevocation was that of a professional Grandmother of the highest order. Her caring, wisdom, ingenuity and character touched and shaped the lives of those around her on a daily basis….

Melba’s  immense spirit will forever live on in her family; daughter, Charlene Tilford and husband  Lewis Tilford of High Ridge,MO.;  grandsons, Todd Tilford and wife Tammy, Keith Tilford and wife Mendy, and Eric Tilford and wife Rena;  five great-grandchildren, Dannielle Tilford, Cheyenne Tilford, Scarlet Tilford, Ivor Tilford, and Josephine Tilford.

The family suggests memorials to the Lawrence Pilot Club Projects Program.

Funeral services will be held 11:00 a.m., Saturday, March 12 at Warren-McElwain Mortuary. The family will receive friends from 10:00 until services time at the mortuary