Florence Kelsey McKelvy

Florence McKelvy was born August 2, 1939, in Minneapolis, Minnesota where she was raised. She passed away Sunday, July 27, 2025, in Viera, Florida. She is survived by her three children Michael, Colleen (Orr), and Patrick, as well as seven grandchildren and one great grandchild.

She grew up in the city of Minneapolis where she helped her parents with their veterinary supply business. She learned inventory, accounting and business skills helping there. She also had a lot of responsibility at home; cooking and cleaning for the family when her mother worked. Growing up in the city, she was a sophisticated woman, always dressed impeccably in the couture clothing she made herself.

 She attended the University of Minnesota for a few years and eventually became a secretary to an engineering supervisor at Honeywell, where she met her husband Bud, who was an engineer there. She was able to get the job because they were looking for someone who was able to understand technical terminology, which she was familiar with from the courses she took in college. She won competitions for her fast typing and shorthand skills. These skills were useful to her through the years as she volunteered to be secretary in several organizations, including the Largo Band of Gold and United Methodist Women, to name a few.

After she got married, she stopped working and became a full-time mother and homemaker. Eventually, the family wanted to get out of the snow and moved to Belleair Beach, Florida on the west coast. Florence was a very skilled seamstress and cook. She made her daughter’s wedding dress and five bridesmaid dresses, as well as dresses for her mother and herself. She even started a seamstress business after she moved to the east coast. In addition to sewing, she also liked to quilt. She made many quilts as gifts and for churches, and all her children and grandchildren have quilts. She even started at least one quilting club and has taught many people to quilt. She was also in a ministry that made bears for heart patients and personally made hundreds of the little bears for patients in need.

She loved to host elaborate parties with large spreads of food and drink on elegant platters and in fancy punch bowls on handmade tablecloths. For many years, on the west coast, she hosted annual Christmas parties for friends and family that are greatly missed and are fondly remembered. She also hosted dinner parties for different volunteer groups she was in. Her cooking skills were used in her planning and execution of several church conference menus and many funeral service refreshment menus.

Florence also loved to sing. She was in the choir at church her whole life and loved being in the church choir at Faith Presbyterian. She was in the Space Coast Oratorio Society, where she sang in many public concerts.

She had a very strong interest in genealogy and family history. She travelled to Ireland to trace down family lineage and met relatives she had found there. She prepared information on the family genealogy that she shared at family reunions.

She put her skills to use volunteering at her children’s schools and for their activities. She and Bud moved to Merritt Island to be close to her daughter and helped watch her grandchildren. She was always very affectionate and there was no doubt that she loved her children and grandchildren very much. She went to church her whole life, be it several different denominations. She loved Jesus until the very end.

In lieu of flowers please consider donating to the Alzheimer’s Association