Ruth Taylor Kellam

Mrs. Ruth Taylor Kellam, 80, beloved wife for 58 years of John Willis Kellam, and a resident of Onley, Va., passed away on Saturday, April 16, 2016, at Riverside Shore Memorial Hospital in Nassawadox, Va.

Born June 5, 1935 on her family’s Point Breeze Farm in Mappsville, Va., she was a daughter of the late Pierce Barnes Taylor and Emily Ann Colona Taylor.  Ruth was graduated from Mary Washington College; was a forty-year educator, working with both the Cities of Fredericksburg and Norfolk, and the Accomack County Public School Systems; attended Onley United Methodist Church; and was a longtime member of the former Mappsville Baptist Church.

Ruth was very active and supportive in the Eastern Shore Community.  She was a Past-President of the Junior Woman’s Club, twenty-five-year member of Central Shore Lion’s Club, a Past Worthy Matron of the former Onancock O.E.S. Chapter #82, and member and Chaplain of Onley Volunteer Fire and Rescue Company.

In addition to her loving husband, survivors include her children, Garnett A. Kellam and wife Jane, of Mappsville, and Ann Kellam Lawson and husband Robbie, of Bells Neck in Painter, Va.; a sister, Vera Bruton and husband Dempsey, of Onancock, Va.; a brother, James W. “Jimmy” Taylor, of Temperanceville, Va.; three grandchildren, Rachel C. Kellam of Charlotte, NC, Hannah Kellam Kloch and husband Andy, of Pawleys Island, SC, and Robert Lawson IV of Willis Wharf, Va.; many nieces, nephews and their families; and her devoted caregivers, Stacey Finney, Barber Lee, and Mildred Wise.  Other than her parents, she was predeceased by a brother, Pierce B. Taylor, Jr., and his wife, Dean Godwin Taylor.

Funeral services will be conducted from the Onley United Methodist Church on Wednesday, April 20, 2016 at 2:00 p.m., with The Reverend Charles W. Parks III officiating.  Interment will be in the Mount Holly Cemetery.  There will be a visitation at the church on Tuesday, April 19, 2106, from 6:00 until 8:00 p.m.

Memorial donations may be made in Ruth’s honor, to Onley United Methodist Church, P.O. Box 98, Onley, Va.  23418, or to Onley Volunteer Fire & Rescue Company, P.O. Box 427, Onley, Va.  23418.

Memory tributes may be shared with the family at www.williamsfuneralhomes.com.

Arrangements by the Williams-Onancock Funeral Home.