Kelly, Kathryn Hope

With the drawing of this Love and the voice of this Calling. Kathryn Hope Kelly, age 70, of Christiansburg died on June 16, 2021. Born July 21, 1950 in Fond du Lac, Wisconsin to the late Robert Frank and Olive Ann Kelly, Kathy was a lifelong educator and member of St. Mary’s Catholic Church. She was preceded in death by her daughter, Jennifer Grace, husband, Wayne Radford, and her brother, Paul.

Dr. Kelly graduated from Virginia Tech with a BA in English and then taught at Shawsville High School for nearly 20 years. She went on to obtain her EdD from Florida State University and then completed her professional career as a professor of English and English Education at Radford University.

She is survived by her sons, Anthony, Rob Atkins and Rachel Koch; step-daughter, Karen Hodges; sisters and brother-in-law Jean and John Mullins, Patti Kelly; brothers and sisters-in-law, Dan Kelly and Shelly Mcelhanon-Kelly, Mike and Janice Kelly; grandchildren Sam, Isabelle, Larry, Josh, Lorin, Andrew; great-grandchildren, Winston and Kennedy; nephews and nieces, Makalay Vest Witten, Olivia Hansford, Kimberly and Andrea Mullins; Rory, Ryan and Casey Kelly; Sean, Clara Jean and Zach Kelly.

Funeral Mass is scheduled on Friday, June 25, 2021 at 11:00 am at Saint Mary’s Catholic Church in Blacksburg, VA. Visitation will be from 10:00 am until service time. Arrangements by McCoy Funeral Home, Blacksburg.

A light lunch will follow services.

For friends and family unable to attend in person, the mass can be viewed live at https://www.facebook.com/stmarysblacksburg

In lieu of flowers, the family asks donations be made to Radford University’s Appalachian Studies Program. Please send checks to the Radford University Foundation and specify Dr. Edwards APST Program, #32220 in the Memo line. Donations should be sent to: PO Box 6893 Radford, VA 24142.