Obituary of Lillian Gladys Kelly

A Mass of Christian Burial for Lillian Gladys “Lil” Kelly of Elsberry, MO will be held at 11:00 a.m. Monday, February 4, 2019 at Sacred Heart Catholic Church in Elsberry.  Fr. Charles Tichacek, church pastor, will officiate with burial in the Elsberry City Cemetery near Elsberry.  Serving as pallbearers will be Michael Kelly, Josh Kelly, Austen Unseld, Chris Trammel, Mark Robson and Adam Harris.

Mrs. Kelly, 83, passed away Thursday evening, January 31, 2019 at Missouri Baptist Medical Center in Town and Country, MO.  Born January 5, 1936 in St. Louis, MO, she was the daughter of Walter Lee and Ima Elizabeth Gilmer McRoy, Sr.  Lil was a 1953 graduate of Fairview High School.  She was united in marriage on June 19, 1953 in St. Louis to William Robert “Bill” Kelly.  This union was blessed with four children: Kathy, Thomas Patrick, Donald William and Robert Walter. 

Lil was a longtime member of Sacred Heart Catholic Church, where she served as secretary/bookeeper for eight years.  She and Bill owned a quickshop from 1975-1982, “Lil & Bill’s.”  She worked for many years as the Manager at Petrolane for 15 years.  She was a member of DNC Club for a number of years.

Lil was preceded in death by her parents, Walter, Sr. and Ima McRoy; her infant daughter, Kathy Kelly; one brother, Walter McRoy, Jr.; one sister, Margaret Parks; and special friend “Popcorn Bill” Kierski.

Survivors include her beloved husband of 65 years, Bill Kelly, of Elsberry; three sons: Tom Kelly and his wife, Rhonda, of Bowling Green, KY, Don Kelly and his wife, Nicole, of Fort Wayne, IN and Bob Kelly of Elsberry; eight grandchildren and eighteen great-grandchildren.  Lil also leaves two sisters: Linda Hill and her husband, Leon, of St. Peters, MO and Mary Bunting of O’Fallon, MO; special friend, Larry Wheeler of Elsberry; nieces, nephews, other relatives and many, many friends.

Visitation will be held from 4:00 - 8:00 p.m. Sunday, February 3, 2019 at Carter-Ricks Funeral Home in Elsberry; and again from 10:00 a.m. until the time of Funeral Mass at 11:00 a.m. on Monday, February 4, 2019 at Sacred Heart Catholic Church.  Memorials may be made to the American Cancer Society in care of Carter-Ricks Funeral Home, 107 S. 5th Street; Elsberry, MO 63343.