Kelly Ray Franklin (Buffalo)'s Obituary
Today I'm grateful for:
Kelly Ray Franklin, went on the next part of his journey on Tuesday, September 11, 8:11 pm at Mercy Hospital with his wife, our mom, by his side. His children had spent the preceding days with him. We hoped he had more time, and he did, too. Mom, Louise Franklin, wanted you all to know. He was born on December 7, 1936, at home in Urbana, Missouri to Ralph Lloyd Franklin and Golda (Goldie) Marie Pitts. He has an older sister Patsy and a younger sister Carol. He attended church as a child at the Nemo Baptist Church in Nemo, Missouri. He remembered well a 30 consecutive-day revival in his childhood. He grew up on his grandparents’ farm and graduated from a one-room schoolhouse in Preston, Missouri. From a young age, he worked in Kansas City and lived in a boarding house during the summer. He moved to California and lived with his aunt and uncle in Ventura, California. During that time, he and his cousin, Gilbert Coleman, worked in a lemonary. Driving to and from California back then was practically a past time. He met his wife, Louise Franklin, when they were 16 at the Cross Timbers picnic. They rode the Ferris wheel that evening. He graduated from Preston in 1954, began dating Louise in 1955, and by 1957, he and mom married in Kansas City, Missouri. He attended the Moler Barber College in downtown Kansas City in 1957, eventually purchasing a barber shop in Hickman Mills Center in 1959 which he owned until 1970.
Dad was an Elks member for nearly 60 years. a Mason, a Scottish Rite, and a Shriner for 50+ years.
In 1958, their son, Douglas Kelly Franklin, joined their family, followed by their daughter, Lori Ellen Franklin in 1961. He was a devoted son to his parents, Ralph and Goldie, and his in-laws Ira Jackson “Jack” Holmes and Ludy Ellen (Spry) Holmes.
Around 1970, with hairstyles changing, the writing was on the wall. Kelly changed his career path, sold the barber shop, and became an authorized operator for Sears & Roebuck and opened a Sears Catalog Store in Buffalo, Missouri.
With their new home and 20 acres in Buffalo, Dad began to enjoy his passion for riding and training horses having anywhere from two to 10 at a time. He was a cowboy at heart. He broke the horses and taught all of his kids to ride. He even worked with the Colorado Forestry Service, finding a lifelong friend with Paul, as he bought Missouri Fox Trotters in Missouri to send back to Colorado for the Forestry Service to use. He loved opening pheasant and quail hunting in Nebraska. He liked his cowboy boots, his friends, his family, and playing bridge.
In 1975, the family was joined by their daughter, Keri Rae Franklin, He spent the next 22 years attending every basketball and volleyball game and making friends along the way.
In 1993, Sears Roebuck paved the way for Amazon by closing all of the Sears Catalog Stores in the U.S., and leaving mom and dad, surprisingly and a little reluctantly, retired at 55.
Dad and mom traveled with friends around the U.S., Europe, and Bahamas with friends. Dad and mom stayed with new friends in a “camp” in the swamps of Louisiana, sent Mom, Lori, and Keri to Hawaii, and met people of all waIks of life wherever they went. In Kennebunkport, Mom found him at the dock talking with the captain of a boat sailing along the Eastern seaboard. They loved their time traveling with Doug in the Pacific Northwest, renting an RV with Keri and her family along Route 66 to California, and spending many wonderful hours with Lori and her family at their lake house. He was also mostly willing to shuttle all of us for our kayaking trips along the Niangua River.
Kelly had three grandchildren by his son, Doug: Alisha, Brandon Douglas Franklin (Shelby) and Caitlyn Elizabeth Franklin (Ryan). He had two grandchildren from his daughter, Lori and her husband Jim Young: Callie Marie Young Wischmeyer (Rick) and great-grand children, Ricky, Eloise, and Henry; Kelsie Elizabeth Young Smith and her husband, Jeremiah Smith, and his great-grand children Jameson, Lucita, and Elias Smith. He had two grandchildren from his daughter, Dr. Keri Rae Franklin, and her husband Aaron Matkowski and his youngest grandchildren, Josie Rae Matkowski and Kelly Aaron Matkowski.
He and his wife Louise would have celebrated their 66th wedding anniversary on December 21, 2023. He was with his mom on December 7, 1941, his fifth birthday, when he heard about Pearl Harbor on the radio, and he died on the anniversary of September 11.
He was handsome, charming, and funny. He was loved from the beginning and to the end. And we will see him again.
Please consider making a donation to the American Cancer Society, Shriners Hospital, or the Pleasant Ridge Church and Cemetery in Urbana, Missouri.
Services are scheduled for Saturday September 16, 2023, with visitation from 12-2 p.m. Masonic Rites will take place at the end of visitation. Formal funeral services will begin at 2 p.m. Kelly will be laid to rest at Pleasant Ridge Cemetery in Urbana, Missouri.
Arrangements are under the direction of Cantlon-Otterness and Viets Funeral Home, Buffalo.
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