CityView Magazine

36 June 2021 and Reggie Barton, were a great team, always in the trenches working for what was best for Fayetteville, and you could always find Rosalie Kelly leading the way," he said. "She was a true champion for Fayetteville and had a sincere caring passion for others," Breece says. "One could write a book on the positive impact Rosalie Kelly had on Fayetteville. She leaves behind a grateful community and a great family legacy filled to the brim. Rosalie Kelly's signature is written in Susan B. Anthony size across Fayetteville's history." 'A Fine Southern Lady' Bruce Daws looks back on Rosalie Huske Kelly with admiration. "I have lots of fond memories of Rosalie," Daws says. "I was lucky to serve on some of her committees and assist in various history-related projects. She was my mentor. She chaired the North Carolina 400th anniversary for Cumberland County, and she and Bill Hurley co-chaired the Bicentennial of the Constitutional Ratification. "She was truly a fine Southern lady of the old school, charming and gracious, and always a pleasure to work with," Daws says. "Her spirit and enthusiasm for history was contagious, and she touched the lives of so many. I am a better person for having known Rosalie Kelly, the 'First Lady of History.'" 'A Remarkable Woman' Ken Robinson knew Rosalie Huske Kelly, too. "It wasn't just her knowledge of history. She had deep roots in Fayetteville, and also a knowledge of preservation and great respect for the community," says Robinson, an archeologist who came to Fayetteville in 1983 to do studies on Cool Spring Street. "She was just a juggernaut in historical preservation." Robinson gives thought to her love of the city dogwoods in spring bloom, too, and her support of the Fayetteville Dogwood Festival origins in the early 1980s. "She was," Robinson says, "a remarkable woman." 'She Was My Best Friend' Rosalie Huske Kelly died August 28, 2011. She was 81. She never waned in loving this city and its history. Rosalie Huske Kelly never tired of telling Fayetteville's story, whether in front of a lectern with an eager audience or in her sunroom along Dobbin Avenue with morning coffee or aernoon tea or a glass of evening wine. "She was my best friend," Robin Kelly says about her mother. "She loved people and never met a stranger. She was taught to be kind to everyone and to treat people with respect. And she certainly did that throughout her life. She set the bar high for us and always led by example." She was Rosalie Huske Kelly, and Rosalie Huske Kelly never tired of telling Fayetteville's historic story. Contact Bill Kirby Jr. at bkirby@cityviewnc.com or 910-624-1961. Read more of his columns in our weekly Insider newsletter. Subscribe at cityviewnc.com or text CityView to 22999. Rosalie Huske Kelly never tired of telling Fayetteville's story, whether in front of a lectern with an eager audience or in her sunroom along Dobbin Avenue with morning coffee or afternoon tea or a glass of evening wine. Rosalie Kelly and then-Mayor Bill Hurley during Fayetteville's celebration of the 1989 N.C. Bicentennial.

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