Fay Newby Kelley

I have always admired my grandmother, Fay Newby Kelley. She never complained about her life being hard and she did have a hard life. She was born August 10, 1892, the daughter of David Henry Newby and Olivia Jane (Jennie) Long Newby. Fay married Edgar Elijah Kelley on April 27, 1913. She and Edgar had six children.

Bonnie Lee, Lydia Louise, Eugene Douglas, Tom Franklin, Betty Jewell, and David Henry

The youngest David was born December 7, 1928 and Edgar died on February 22, 1929. Fay was left with six children age 13 to 2 1/2 months. One of her brothers offered to take one or two of the children to raise but she told him, " No, they are my children. They need to stay together."

Fay was 36 years old when Edgar died but she never remarried.

She again faced a sad and difficult time during World War II. Tom was wounded in October 1944 and nearly killed. Then in March 1945 Eugene was killed.

Her youngest child David died in November 1976 when he was injured in an accident on the job.

I remember my grandmother crying at the funeral home and saying it should not be like this, a mother is not suppose to out live her children.

Fay was almost 92 when she died July 4, 1984. My cousin Sandy and I were with her in the hospital room when she died.