Jessie Lynne Gabbard Keltner, 74, of London, Kentucky, passed away in her home on Sunday, July 26 after a brief battle with cancer. She was surrounded by friends and family who sang some of her favorite hymns in her final moments.
She was the daughter of the late Luther Gabbard, a native of Jackson County, and the late Jessie Bishop Gabbard. Both were teachers at McKee High School in the 1950s. During those years the family attended the Gray Hawk Baptist Church and lived in Gray Hawk and then McKee before moving to Cumberland County and later to London.
Jessie Lynne is survived by her husband David Keltner of London, also a former resident of Jackson County, by her sister Anne Gabbard Shelby (Edmund) of Oneida, her nephew Graham Shelby (Gabrielle) of Louisville and her great-nephews Luke, Leo and Ace Shelby.
She is also mourned and missed by her former stepdaughters Kolleen Kelley of Paducah and Molly Kelley McCabe (Kevin) of Raleigh, North Carolina, by her brother-in-law Steve Keltner of Nicholasville, sister-in-law Beth Hatchett of Lexington, niece Kristy Jenkins of Stanford, nephews Carl Bradford, Robert and Lee Thomas Hatchett, by a large and loving family of Gabbard relatives in Jackson County and elsewhere, along with many other relatives, friends and co-workers whose lives she touched.
Jessie Lynne was preceded in death by her parents and by Breathitt Kelley, her stepson from a previous marriage.
Jessie Lynne graduated in 1970 from London High School and in 1975 from Morehead State University where she studied sociology with an emphasis on social work.
She served as a social worker with the Commonwealth of Kentucky in Owsley County and as a paralegal in law offices in Beattyville, Wickliffe and London before working for many years in Social Services at Laurel Heights Home for Elderly in London.
A singer and musician, she played autoharp, guitar and piano. She played violin with the London Community Orchestra and old-time fiddle at festivals and other events.
Her loved ones will miss her compassion, generosity and sense of humor as well as the beautiful music she played and photographs she took and shared.
Services for Jessie Lynne Keltner were held at Bowling Funeral Home in London on July 30. A tribute slide show of photographs appears on the Bowling Funeral Home website. She is buried alongside her parents at the Gabbard Cemetery at Gray Hawk.
