Grace Mattar Kelley

Grace Mattar Kelley, age 91, of Tallahassee, Florida, passed away on 11th of January 2024. She is survived by her daughter Susan Kelley, her son Tom Kelley, his wife Loretta, and her grandchildren Donovan, Macy, Lewin, Truman, and Nathan. Grace was the oldest of eight children and is survived by her brothers, Samuel (Vivian) Mattar and Phillip (Evelyn) Mattar, and her sisters Lydia (Marty) Titcomb, Lilian (Cecil) Patey, and Florence (Oscar) Mattar. She was preceded in death by her husband Jim Kelley, and her brothers James and John Mattar.

Grace was born on September 7, 1932, in Haifa, Palestine, to parents Solomon Mattar and Minerva Nucho. With the help of representatives of the Mennonite Church, Grace was able to flee the atrocities in Palestine by coming to the United States in 1950. She was able to finish her high school education and graduate with an A.A. from Hesston College in 1953, and then received her B.S. in Nursing from Goshen College in 1958.

She met the love of her life and was married in South Bend, Indiana, in 1959. The family moved to Tallahassee, so her husband could complete his Ph. D. in Psychology at Florida State University. She originally worked as a nurse at Tallahassee Memorial Hospital, and then took a position with her husband at Southwestern State Hospital to which she retired in 1996.

Grace was a member of East Hill Baptist Church where she was a deacon, choir member, and served on the Cross Committee. Grace was a proud member and president of the Georgia Nurses Association and twice won nurse of the year. She enjoyed being a member of the Thomasville Women’s Club, and helping with the Red Cross, Good News Outreach, and Mended Hearts of Tallahassee. She enjoyed traveling, cooking, music, piano, attending the Tallahassee Symphony Orchestra, and learning the pipe organ, but most especially spending time with her family and grandchildren.

A musical celebration and sharing of her life will be held at East Hill Baptist Church at 2 pm on Saturday, January 27th, with friends and family gathering to follow in the reception hall.

In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions may be made to East Hill Baptist Church at https://www.easthill.net/how-to-give-online or the Tallahassee Symphony Orchestra at https://www.tallahasseesymphony.org/about/donate.

Grace’s family would like to thank the caring staff at Covenant Care Hospice and the wonderful, loving caregivers from Synergy HomeCare and Hopewell Senior Care.

If you would like to hear more about Grace and her life story, her daughter Susan recorded a lovely biography for the StoryCorps Archive at https://archive.storycorps.org/interviews/susan-kelley-and-grace-kelley/