KANNAPOLIS ó Patricia Kelly wanted to support local firefighters as they mourned the recent loss of their Salisbury brothers.
With limited time and resources, the longtime Kannapolis resident decided to donate something dear to her heart ó her deceased husband’s American flag. She presented the flag to the Kannapolis Fire Department.
Andrew Hill Kelly, who died Aug. 6, 1999, served in the U.S. Army and the U.S. Navy. Upon his death, he was given a military funeral service complete with the American flag covering his casket.
Patricia Kelly decided it would be a tribute to him to donate that flag to the fire department.
“This is what he would want me to do,” she said in a Kannapolis Fire Department press release. Her husband would have wanted her “to do something nice” for the firefighters, she said.
Assistant Fire Chief Scott Linebarger called Kelly’s donation a “generous gift. The flag used during her husband’s funeral service is an honor to receive. It will be kept in a glass display case to enjoy for years to come.”
Linebarger said the department appreciates all the well wishes shared by citizens of Kannapolis.