- Date Of Birth: April 7, 1926
- Date Of Death: November 21, 2015
- State: Georgia
Delores Myrtle Ritter Kelley of Newnan (formerly of Athens, GA) died on Saturday, November 21, 2015 at the age of 89. She died suddenly of a heart attack only a few weeks after relocating from her niece’s home in Newnan to Brookdale Senior Living community in Newnan.
Delores was born in Wishek, North Dakota on April 7, 1926 to Jacob Ritter and his wife Rosina Schock Ritter. As children, the senior Ritters were among a town of German immigrants from Russia whose families immigrated to North Dakota, arriving on 20 Oct. 1898 from the Ship Kaiser Friedrich. Delores was the 9th of 10 children born to the Ritters in N.D. but was the last surviving sibling of that family. She loved her birth family and was taught to love God and family, be a hard worker, honest, and loyal. She was reared as a member of St. Luke’s Lutheran Church in Wishek. She kept those values all of her life.
While a nursing student after graduating high school she met John Drenan Kelley, they later married in July of 1956 in Hillsborough County, Florida. When going through her things at her death, I found in her chest of drawers the topper from her wedding cake wrapped in a linen napkin with the word “Antoines” on it. She saved it all these years.
Once she graduated with her R.N., Delores worked as a registered nurse to put Drenan through his Master’s and Ph.D. programs (Minneapolis and Baton Rouge, LA respectively), until he settled in his full time career job teaching Sociology at the University of Georgia. She worked for a brief spell at St. Mary’s hospital in Athens. After that, she found her joy in entertaining his graduate students, collecting antiques, polishing her home, and loving her husband. The Kelleys had no children, so Drenan’s brother’s daughter (Kitty Kelley) was delighted to step into the roll and her son, Jeffrey, was like a grandson to them. She had three wonderful friends in Athens: Edna Denney, Edna Hammock and Annette Ransom. Edna Denney is now deceased.
Delores removed to her niece’s home in Newnan when it became too difficult for her to live alone. After time passed, another move was made to Brookdale. She brightened considerably in the assisted living environment—she made many good friends there. The staff and residents are to be commended for their easy hospitality and patience with Delores, a woman with dementia who used humor to cover up memory deficiencies.
Delores was preceded in death by her husband, Drenan Kelley, and all nine of her sisters and brothers. She is survived by 15 nieces and nephews: Kitty Kelley of Newnan; Jerome, Rose Mary & Lyle Draheim; Charleen Ritter; Elizabeth & Davis Pitts; Gerard, Rosemarie, Thomas & Marjorie Junkert; and Larry, Paul, Ray & Donna Duryee. Great-nephew Jeffrey Bailey is from Tega Cay, SC.
