It Started With A Hug
On July 31, 1921, Deaner Sams Kelly was born — a woman whose love, strength, and warmth would bind together a family for generations. She and her husband Henry Thomas Kelly had ten children together. After Henry Thomas passed away, Deaner raised their ten children on her own, pouring into each one a legacy of faith, resilience, and togetherness.
In July 1993, Mama Deaner went home to be with the Lord. Her passing left a void that nothing could fill — but her ten children refused to let her memory fade. That same summer, they gathered for what began as a simple family cookout in her honor. They laughed, they cried, they remembered.
And they came back the next year. And the year after that. What began as a simple family cookout grew into what feels like a family reunion — Thirty-three years later, the Kelly Family Celebration stands as a living testament to one woman's love — a tradition born from grief, sustained by joy, and carried forward by hundreds of descendants who never stop honoring where they came from.
Born: July 31, 1921 | Went Home: July 1993
