Dr. Edward “Ned” Allen Kelly, age 77, passed away peacefully at home on October 11, 2022 in the company of his wife and four children after living with Parkinson’s. He was a tenderhearted and loving soul who will be dearly missed by his family, friends, and community.
Ned was born in White Sulphur Springs, W.V. on April 18, 1945 to Robert Patton Kelly, Jr. and Sara Margaret Kelly (nee Powers). He grew up in the suburbs of Atlanta, Ga. where he attended Westminster School (1963). He majored in German at Davidson College (1967) in North Carolina and studied abroad in Marburg, Germany.
After graduation, he attended medical school at Columbia University in New York City (1971). His heart led him to turn down a residency placement at Stanford University in order to serve at the under-resourced Lincoln Hospital in the Bronx. Subsequently, he continued his residency at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill where he studied Family Practice Medicine. He worked as the medical director at the Hot Springs Health Program in rural Madison County, N.C. and as a clinician at the VA Hospital in Asheville, N.C. He also practiced as a family doctor in the North Carolina Piedmont before transitioning to a career in pharmacovigilance in Research Triangle Park first at PPD and later at Quintiles where he retired as Global Vice President of Post Market Safety.
Those fortunate enough to have known Ned consistently comment on his kindness, generosity, humility, and intellect. He often provided essential, and even at times lifesaving medical advice for friends, neighbors, and family. He was committed to leaving the world a better place than he found it. His other passions included making dad jokes, running around on the tennis court, foreign travel (especially to Mexico), and cheering on his beloved Carolina Tar Heels basketball team.
Ned is survived by his wife Linda Starkweather; son, Josh Kelly and Becky Brown, daughter Zoe Kelly and Mario Olmos, stepson, Sampson Starkweather and Paige Taggart, stepdaughter Emily and Scott Tinervin, granddaughters Ryan and Emery Tinervin, foster son Luis and Megan Bautista and their daughters Katelyn and Alexis Bautista, brother Pat Kelly, and sister Mary Rogers.
There will be a visitation with the family for the community on October 20th between 6 and 8 p.m. at Donaldson’s Funeral Home, 396 West St., in Pittsboro, N.C. A memorial service will be held in celebration of Ned’s life at Saint Bartholomew’s Episcopal Church in Pittsboro, N.C. at 3:00 p.m on October 22nd, 2022.
Ned cared deeply for the wellbeing of humanity and the Earth. Therefore, in lieu of flowers or for those wishing to offer a memorial gift, the family requests donations be made to Mountain True, 29 N. Market Street, Suite 610, Asheville, NC 28801 https://mountaintrue.org to support conservation in the Southern Blue Ridge where Ned lived for many years. Donaldson Funeral Home & Crematory is honored to serve the Kelly & Starkweather family. Memorial tributes can be left at www.donaldsonfunerals.com.