It is with great sadness that we announce the passing of Murline Kelly at The Lakes of Maumelle retirement home on June 13. Born in Little Rock in 1937 to Madge and Murl Downing, the oldest of two sisters though Murl must have really wanted a boy hence the name Murline. She went by "Mimi"
After graduating from Little Rock High, Mimi briefly attended Little Rock Junior College (now known as UALR) before beginning a career with the Federal Highway Administration for 35 years as an administration assistant. Known for her incredible typing speed of 120 words per minute, nearly 25% of them spelled correctly. So proficient at her job, when she was moved to D.C., she was given two top men to secretary for, convenient as she threw all their material in the same file cabinet anyway.

Mimi's love for the game of bridge led her to retire to St. Augustine, FL where she became a gold Life Master at the local bridge club - a club well known for their hip atmosphere and attraction to the younger crowd (by St. Augustine standards). Never missing an opportunity to tell someone what to do, Mimi served as their club secretary for almost a decade. She was well known for stocking her opponents partners with newbies that did not understand the game. Her favorite saying was "I'll open with one No-Trump". I thought this to be a political reference but she assured me that bridge players will understand it.

Her battle with dementia forced her hand to come live back in Maumelle with her son, Keith Montgomery, his wife Kimberly and her three granddaughters, Samantha, Lauren and Alexis. Her firstborn Chris Madrid predeceased her so that was good planning on her part, but she had a grandson Andrew Madrid and five great grandsons - which made that an unlikely location also. Well done, Andrew. Murline's third child, DeEtta Nixon, cancelled her phone service when told about possible living options and has not been heard from since. Her daughter, Kayla, preceded Mimi. Her one sibling, Jeanine Bridwell, has been living a wonderful life of new love and happiness and did not want her older sister to take one more boyfriend.
Mimi's love for bridge was only surpassed by her love for barbecue. Mimi was well know for giving Christmas gifts of McLard's barbecue sauce to all her friends so that when she visited, a proper meal could be prepared for her. Mimi was always a straight shooter and did not sugar coat anything to anyone. Her family was always amazed by how dementia could take away most speech patterns but Mimi could always recall the four letter words. Through it all, her sense of humor never wavered nor the inappropriate reference it was related to. We want to both thank and apologize to Baptist Hospice service for their incredible patience and service.

Per Mimi's wishes there will be no service but donations can be made to Maumelle Friends of Animals. Cremation services are under the direction of Cremation Services of Arkansas (501)313-5431