Karen Elizabeth Willard (Kelly) passed away peacefully in her parents’ home in Cataula on the morning of May 20,2025. Her mother was by her side. She was born December 31st, 1981 in Columbus, Georgia to John and Cindy (Scheible) Kelly. Karen being the middle child, was quick to remind her older brother Josh and younger sister Jordan of this every year on August 12th, Middle Child Day.
Karen’s early years were spent in Macon, Georgia and Ft. Wayne, Indiana. Her family moved back to Columbus in 1992 where she attended Reese Road Elementary, Fort Middle and graduated with honors from Hardaway High School. While at Hardaway she was active in drama, playing lead in two dinner theaters, was a delegate to the Kiryu, Japan sister city exchange program and delivered one of Hardaway’s graduation speeches. She attended UGA but transferred to Mercer University her junior year to pursue her passion for medicine. She graduated with a BS in Nursing in 2006. Several years later she was accepted into the Nurse Practitioner Program at Emory University and graduated with a Masters’ Degree in 2012.
Karen’s working life began at just 14 years old when she demonstrated a set of inline skates for 2 days in exchange for her own set. After graduating from Mercer, she went to work in the Emergency Room at Piedmont Hospitals in both Atlanta and Newnan Georgia. In 2012 she fulfilled her life’s ambition and became an ER Nurse Practitioner in the Grady Trauma Center in Atlanta. When her daughter Aniston arrived in 2016, she moved to Kaiser Permanente to be able to spend more time with her. She stepped away from her nursing career in 2018 due to her illness, Metachromatic Leukodystrophy (MLD).
Karen was preceded in death by her twin sisters Ruth Colquitt and Louise Basham Kelly, her brother Joshua Adam Kelly, her grandparents, Col. Paul and Iva Scheible and Don and Alice Kelly (Robertson). She is survived by her daughter, Aniston Lane Willard of Atlanta, her parents John and Cindy Kelly of Cataula, her sister Jordan Cartledge (Matt) of Ellerslie, uncle Don Kelly (Allison) of Columbus aunt Patricia Paulk Tennant (Jim) High Point, NC and many cousins, nieces, and nephews.
The family wishes to extend its gratitude to Kelli Caughey, her in home nurse, and to all the nurses and staff at Columbus Hospice for their great care of Karen. A very special thanks to her at home caregivers Terry, Leslie, and Brittany whose kindness and sympathy helped us through a difficult time.
The family will welcome visitors at 10:00 am Friday, May 23rd in the Fellowship Hall of Grace Presbyterian Church, 7211 Britton Dr., Columbus, GA 31904. A memorial service will follow at 11:00 am. There will be a private interment at Parkhill Cemetery.
In lieu of flowers, the family requests donations be made to Columbus Hospice or Grace Presbyterian Church.
