Mr. Donnie Joe O’Kelley, age 75 of Florence, passed away on November 28, 2024. Services will be held at Elkins East Chapel in Killen on Sunday, December 1 at 2 pm. Visitation will be held prior to the service beginning at 12:30 pm. Burial will immediately follow the service at Miller Cemetery in Rogersville. Dennis Hargett is to officiate the service.
Mr. O’Kelley spent his young adult years in the congregation of Woodlawn Church of Christ. He was the tool room warehouse manager for TVA at Brown’s Ferry NP for over 30 years. He was an avid sports fan who especially loved to cheer on the Alabama Crimson Tide. He was a handy man with a special interest in carpentry as well as building and racing “round track”, Ford powered vintage race cars. Over the years, some of his favorite activities included bowling, playing and coaching softball, umpiring, as well as playing a good family card game. One of his most impressive talents was making a deal on almost anything, to which he could have hosted his own trader Joe show.
Mr. O’Kelley is best described as a reliable, gentle, simple man. Nothing brought him greater joy than telling stories and spending time with his wife, children, and grandchildren whom he loved to no end.
Mr. O’Kelley is survived by his loving wife, Kathy Barnett O’Kelley; children, Stephanie Fuller (Grady), Allyson Woody (Casey), Patrick O’Kelley (Anh); stepchildren, Kim Sanders (Dewayne), Jason Comer (Amy), Jonah Comer (Tiffany); grandchildren, Donnie “D.J.” Fuller (Becca), Juliann Fuller, Casen Woody, Braden Woody, Kohen Woody, Anthony “Tony” O’Kelley, Maranda Comer, Katie Phelps, Georgia Lovelace, Hannah Comer, Haley Jo Comer, River Comer, Amanda Liles, Jessi Casteel, Bryce Sanders; six great-grandchildren; a brother, Gerald O’Kelley; and numerous nieces and nephews. He is preceded in death by his parents, James Russell and Julia Christine O’Kelley; his siblings, Claude W. “Sonny” O’Kelley, and James E. “Jay” O’Kelley; and a nephew, Leslie C. O’Kelley.
