Martha Helen Kelley, age 96, of Lawrenceburg, TN passed away Sunday, January 28, 2024, at Vanderbilt University Medical Center in Nashville, TN. She was a native of Lauderdale County, AL, retired church secretary at First Baptist Church in Chicago, IL, and a member of Immanuel Baptist Church. She will be remembered for her cooking, hospitality, giving spirit, friendship, and love for her Lord.
She was preceded in death by her parents, John Wesley and Mattie Lou Mitchell Forsythe; her first husband, Edison Slaton; her second husband, Claude Kelley; three sons, Barry Wayne Slaton, Ronnie Lynn Slaton, and Jimmie Ray Slaton; son-in-law, Louis R. Karling; three brothers, Homer Forsythe, Herbert Forsythe, and Doyce Forsythe; four sisters, Pauline Forsythe, Bessie Davis, Willie Olivia Cole, and Carol Sue Hammonds.
She was a loving mother to one daughter, Janice Karling of Lawrenceburg, TN; one son, Scotty Slaton of Lawrenceburg, TN; loving grandmother to several grandchildren; several great-grandchildren; and two great-great-grandchildren.
Arrangements are being handled by Neal Funeral Home, 231 N. Military Avenue, Lawrenceburg, Tennessee. The family will receive friends from 4:00 PM to 8:00 PM Thursday, February 01, 2024, at Neal Funeral Home. Funeral services will be conducted at Neal Funeral Home at 11:00 AM Friday, February 02, 2024, with Reggie Coleman officiating. Interment will follow at Barnett Cemetery in Lexington, AL. The family suggests memorials be made to Immanuel Baptist Church.
