Betty L. Kelley, 78, of Beebe, left this life on August 30, 2022. She attended Guy-Perkins Schools and obtained her teaching degree from State College of Arkansas; now the University of Central Arkansas, in 1970. For thirty-two years, she taught third grade at Beebe Public Schools where she had the privilege of shaping the minds of multiple generations. She loved all things Beebe Badgers, so after retiring from active teaching, she spent the next twenty years assisting the school’s Central Office, and oversaw the scholarship foundation which provides continued educational opportunities for students. She was also active, and an officer, in Delta Kappa Gamma. Betty was preceded in death by her parents, Robert and Helen Mode, and her husband of fifty years, Haskell Kelley. She is survived by her sister, Janice (Lynn) Brown of Conway; brothers, Steve (Helen) Mode of Guy and Floyd (Karen) Mode of Little Rock; daughter, Bettinna Spelzhaus of Little Rock and son Tracy (Kim) Kelley of Fairhope, Alabama; four grandchildren and six great grandchildren. The family requests in lieu of flowers, memorial donations be made to the Haskell and Betty Kelley Scholarship, Beebe Public Schools, 1201 West Center, Beebe, Arkansas 72012, Attention: Tatum Reed/Scholarship. Visitation was Thursday, September 1, 2022 from 6:00-8:00 p.m. at Smith Westbrook Funeral Home Chapel, Beebe. Funeral services were Friday, September 2nd at 10:00 a.m. at the Smith Westbrook Funeral Home Chapel, with interment to follow at Crestlawn in Conway. Please visit www.smithfamilycares.com/westbrook to view the online registry. Arrangements by Smith Westbrook Funeral Home.
