Joye Belle Kelly

October 28, 1931 - February 4, 2022

Joye Belle (Deavenport) Kelly, 90, of Muskogee, Oklahoma passed away Friday, February 4, 2022. She was born October 28, 1931 to Andrew Lee Deavenport and Pattie Celia (Thomas) Deavenport in Silverton, Texas. Joye spent her childhood in Silverton on her family’s farm. As a young girl, she learned to drive a tractor to help her father with the cotton, wheat, and maize during the war. Joye was a cheerleader for the Silverton Owls, and she graduated from high school in Briscoe County. Later, Joye helped ensure the continued operations of her family farm, which still runs today thanks to the son of Larue Garvin, Joye’s childhood best friend, who she lovingly called Ukie. The Deavenport family farm has been continuously operated for over 100 years. Joye attended Abilene Christian College from 1949-1951. At ACC, Joye was named ACC Freshman Favorite and Band Queen in 1949. In 1959, Joye was asked to be Coming Home Queen for the ACC Homecoming Festivities because of her accolades. During her college years, she had a summer job where she collected and reported agricultural statistics that were used by the State and Federal government to formulate policies to support farmers. Joye was also on the yearbook staff, in the women’s social club GATA, and enjoyed meeting people for coffee, which is how she met her future husband. Joye married the love of her life, Charles Moreland Kelly, on December 25, 1950 on her family farm in Silverton, Texas. She wore a tailored white wool suit to the ceremony. Joye and Charles shared 66 years of happy marriage together before his passing in 2017. After Charles’ graduation from ACC in 1951, they moved to Muskogee, Oklahoma and began their life together there. Joye worked for Allied Finance and later helped her husband manage his new business, the Kelly Office Supply, which was the biggest office supply company in Oklahoma at the time. During this time, Joye and Charles expanded their family, and Joye took great pleasure in caring for their four children. She was a member and Bible school teacher at the West Side Church of Christ in Muskogee, Oklahoma for 70 years. Joye was honored to help teach children key life skills such as kindness, patience, and sharing during her time as a Bible School teacher, mother, and “Meme.” Joye enjoyed cooking, going to the beach, and being with her family. Her house almost always smelled like chocolate chip cookies, and many memories were made at her home while sitting around her dining room table, which she inherited from her mother. Joye has passed her love of cooking to her children and grandchildren, many of whom fondly remember baking together when at her home. Her staple cookbook, the Joy of Cooking, was given to her by her sister, Nona, as a wedding present in 1951, and Joye’s family members continue to use this book as a guide when they cook. She and Charles were gardeners for a good portion of their lives, and they loved to share their abundant produce each year with everyone at church. Joye was truly the embodiment of her name; she was kind, patient, and ever-pleasant. Her soft smile and beauty will be remembered by all who loved and knew her. Joye was preceded in death by her husband, Charles Kelly; parents, Andrew and Pattie Deavenport; sisters, Corrine Jarrett and Nona Barnett; brother, Joe Deavenport; and son-in-law, Leland Smith. She is survived by her children, Karlease Kelly of Ranson, WV, Kim Smith of Muskogee, OK, Kathy Schaffner and husband Dr. Randall Schaffner of Vernon, TX, and Keith Kelly and wife Michelle of Tulsa, OK; 10 grandchildren, Kelly Duck and husband Jim, Lee Smith and wife Traci, Kyndle Smith and Chelsea, Austin Schaffner and wife Dana, Audrey Buchanan and husband King, Alec Schaffner and wife Courtney, Madison Kelly, Connor Kelly and wife Rustyn, Brooklyn Kelly, and Logan Kelly; 8 great-grandchildren, Kadence Duck, Joshua Duck, Kaylee Smith, Karson Smith, Leannah Smith, Kallen Smith, Emma Schaffner, and Taylor Joye Schaffner; she is also survived by brother Roy Deavenport, brother-in-law Jim Kelly and wife Elaine, brother-in-law Bob Davidson, and numerous nieces, nephews, other family members and friends. A celebration of Joye’s life will be 10AM, Wednesday, February 9, 2022 at West Side Church of Christ in Muskogee, OK with Minister Harry Fitzgerald officiating. Interment will follow at Greenhill Cemetery Pavilion. Serving as pallbearers will be Connor Kelly, Austin Schaffner, Alec Schaffner, Lee Smith, Kyndle Smith, and Jim Duck. Honorary pallbearers will be Logan Kelly, Joshua Duck, and King Buchanan.