Mary L. Kelly, Kansas City social and community activist, dies at 96

Editor’s note: This feature is part of a weekly focus from The Star meant to highlight and remember the lives of Black Kansas Citians who have died.

It was a vacant building located in the heart of Kansas City’s Town Fork Creek neighborhood that caught the eye of a group of community leaders who were looking to expand The Upper Room, a non-profit organization.

They received a $1.5 million donation for renovations and then all they needed was a name for the new and improved community center they were creating. They decided on Mary L. Kelly.

“Naming it the Mary Kelly Center was a no brainer,” Lynne Beaver, president of The Upper Room’s board of directors said.

Named after community activist Mary Kelly, the community center has served many youths and their families for decades. Family and friends say Kelly played an integral part in organizing the center’s activities and programs.

“They named it after her because of her years of service and her dedication to the community,” Ann Kelly, Mary’s daughter, said.

“She’d go door to door making sure people with children received information so that they could enroll kids in the summertime to go to school,” Ann Kelly said. “It started out as a reading program only. It caught on and started growing, becoming involved in the state and the Kansas City Public School District.”

Kelly was aware of the needs children in the area were desperately missing, family said. With the Upper Room and now the space at the Mary L. Kelly Community Center, Kelly along with her colleagues were able to provide a safe space for educational, performing arts, health and wellness opportunities.

“She was a big part of the community center,” Beaver said. “She was always really involved.”

Kelly died at her residence on Aug. 28. She was 96 years old.

Born on Jan. 6, 1925, to Tommy and Annie Bell in Meridian, Mississippi, Kelly was the fifth child.

She graduated high school at the age of 14.

“My mother was an over achiever,” Ann Kelly said. “She’d take the uneasy way and make it look effortless.”

Family says she had a love for serving others, which led her to a career in nursing.

She began doing dietary work until a woman where she worked in Oak Grove, Tennessee, saw the level of care she offered to people and presented her name to a nursing program, and they accepted her.

Kelly completed nursing school in Columbia, South Carolina, and obtained her bachelor’s degree in social studies from Allen and Benedict College. She later received her Master’s in nursing from the University of Missouri—Kansas City.

“Anything that pertained to assisting others, she was all about it,” her daughter said.

She began working as a civilian nurse at Fort Hood Army Hospital, Ann Kelley said. She later became the first African American nurse at the Veteran’s Administration Hospital in Marlin, Texas, according to family.

Kelly continued her professional career path in Kansas City, Missouri. Family said she retired from her work with federal government in 1986, after thirty years of service.

“Even after she retired, everything she did was about helping others,” Ann Kelly said.

She worked at the Visiting Nurses Association, Home Health Care, Laubach Literacy Council of Kansas City, Missouri, and Catholic Charities.

Outside of work, family said, Kelly devoted her time to social and community activism. With The Upper Room, she served as president Emeritus on the board and was also a board member of the Swope Ridge Geriatric Center.

When Kelly was not advocating on behalf of her community, one could find her in her garden, at the skating rink, or on the dance floor.

“She loved to dance. She’d get out on the floor and just enjoy herself,” Kelly’s friend Annie Davis said.

Davis described her friend as friendly and humorous. She always kept those around her laughing, she said.

“She didn’t have to know you long, nobody was a stranger,” Linda Watkins, a family friend, said. “She had a way about herself of accepting you and making you feel important without having any knowledge of you,” she added.

Other remembrances

Jesse Roby

Jesse Andrew Roby, passionate gardener and avid music fan, died Aug. 19. He was 89.

Roby was born on Feb. 20, 1932 in Lehigh, Oklahoma, to William Henry and Catherine Hulland Roby.

He was a graduate of Booker T, Washington High School in Coalgate, Oklahoma, where he played on the school’s basketball team.

Roby grew up on a farm, feeding the outside animals before going to school. He and his brothers also delivered the local newspaper together.

He moved to Kansas City in 1950 and he began work at a tannery and delivered and washed cars. In 1970, he began working at Farmland Battery Plant, where he worked for 24 years before retiring in 1991.

In 1982, he met the love of his life, Gertrude, with whom he shared nearly 40 years.

After retiring, Roby developed a love for gardening, family said. He and his sister, Emma, had a garden in her back yard. They grew greens, okra, green beans, and tomatoes; raised hogs, turkeys, chickens, and rabbits. He later tended a garden across the street from his sister, Margaret. His last garden was planted for him in 2020 across the street from his house — he’d roll across the street in his wheelchair to admire it.

Roby is survived by his wife, Gertrude; seven children, Chaquita Roby, Jesse Roby, Jr., Sarita Cann; Brett Moore, Miriam Whitmire, Mark Moore, Terrence Collins and Vernen Collins; one brother, Bennie Roby; two sisters, Margaret Reed, and Ada Roby; 12 grandchildren; 15 great grandchildren, one great, great grandson as well as a host of nephews, nieces and friends.

Melonie Gilmore

Melonie “Mel” Gilmore, a social worker and member of Alpha Kappa Alpha, died Aug. 24. She was 50.

Gilmore was born on May 13, 1971, in Kansas City to Jefro and Ella Mae Gilmore.

Gilmore was formally educated in Catholic schools, attending St. Martin de Porres grade school and Bishop Hogan High School before graduating from Van Horn High School in 1989. She attended Langston University where she received her Bachelor of Arts in Psychology in 1994. Gilmore continued her education at the University of Missouri Kansas City, graduating with a Master’s in social work in 2003.

She received Christ at an early age as a member of the Immaculate Temple of God Nondenominational Church. She was a member of the House of Refuge Family Worship Center.

Gilmore cared deeply for people and used her life and career to improve the lives of others, family said. She worked in social work and mental health for both the sate of Missouri and Truman Medical Center. She was a member of The National Association of Social Workers (NASW).

Gilmore was also a member of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, volunteered in her church community and as a chaperone and Alumni Board member of the Kansas City Marching Cobras, an organization that she also participated in during her youth.

She is survived by her daughter, Brianna Agee; twelve brothers and sisters; thirty nieces and nephews, and a host of other family members and friends.