Kelly Marcellus Spurlock

Kelly Marcellus Spurlock, born October 20, 1920, passed away on Sunday, February 11, 2018.  Kelly was the 7th of 16 children born to Thomas Shirley and Willie Ann (Borden) Spurlock of Salem, Virginia.  He attended the Roanoke County Training School through 10th grade, when he left for Philadelphia, PA, to join family members and go to work.  Six months after the U.S. entered World War II, Kelly enlisted in the U. S. Army, serving in New Guinea and the Philippines.  At the war’s end, on Valentine’s Day 1946, Kelly married Odessa Elaine Fuller, his sister Mary’s college roommate, and in 1947, the couple, along with Mary and her husband, Kelly's childhood friend, Bertram W. Wilson, moved to Eastern Connecticut.  They dreamed of starting a chicken farm, but for Kelly and Odessa that initial dream was supplanted by a new vision of building a good life centered around family.  During the ‘50’s, Kelly worked at the American Screw Company and, following the factory’s move South, he worked in plant maintenance at the University of Connecticut, a job from which he retired in the early ‘80’s.  In the early years, Kelly and Odessa’s home served as a point of transition for Kelly’s younger siblings, several of whom attended high school or worked before marrying or returning to Philadelphia or the South.  After stints in the military, several chose to settle close by in Connecticut.

Kelly was a gentle, generous, loving man who set the standard as a husband, a father, a family member, a neighbor and a friend.  From 1964 until her death in 2002, he served as a devoted caregiver to Odessa, who was stricken with a debilitating illness. Over the years he exhibited similar loving care for his daughters, his grandchildren, his siblings and their spouses and children, and several dear friends.  Even as he advanced in age, Kelly remained physically active and mentally sharp.  His favorite pastime was sharing his extensive photo collection with visitors, treating them to little-known tidbits about individuals and their relationships within the network of family and community in Salem and Philadelphia.  He was keen on grocery shopping with an eye out for a good bargain.  He liked watching chickens and woodchucks from his dining room window. Kelly enjoyed listening to the radio and to his cassette tapes.  His favorite genres were Country and R & B – and he savored the music of artists such as Ray Charles, who blended the two.

Left to cherish Kelly’s memory are his daughter, Karla Spurlock-Evans, and her husband, Dr. Booker Evans; their children: Dr. Mariama Evans, of Chapel Hill, NC, and Booker Evans, Jr., of Takoma Park, MD; the children of his late daughter, Janis: Sharlamar McLendon, of Bristol, CT, Toni Kiara McLendon, of Hartford, CT, and Nia McLendon and her children, Ava Lynn Coleman and Carter Thomas White, of Middletown, CT; two sisters and a sister-in-law, Grace Hopson, of Storrs, CT, Lois Hopson, of Salem, VA, and Margaret Spurlock, of Salem, VA and a host of nieces and nephews, cousins, and friends.

The family will receive relatives and friends from 10:00 am to11:00 am, Tuesday, February 27, 2018 at Potter Funeral Home 456 Jackson St. (Rte.195) Willimantic, CT with the Funeral service to follow.

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