Stephanie Dragon Kelly

LOUISVILLE – Stephanie Dragon Kelly, of Louisville, KY, died July 18, 2024 at her residence at the Ashton on Dorsey in Louisville, KY.  She was born in Albion NY on September 27, 1931, of Katherine and Peter Dragon.

Stephanie majored in journalism and advertising at Keuka College in Penn Yan, NY.  She graduated magna cum laude as valedictorian of her class.  She then worked for two advertising agencies in Manhattan before marrying and moving to Portland,Oregon.

Shortly after relocating from Portland to Atlanta in 1966 with husband James H. Walsh Jr. and their three children, she became involved in a number of arts-related activities. She served on the board of the Arts Festival of Atlanta and as a docent at the High Museum of Art. For several years, she was a member of the Central Presbyterian Church choir and also sang in the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra chorus.

Stephanie was the first Atlantan ever to be selected as National New Neighbor of the Year, in recognition of her volunteer work and her involvement in the New Neighbors League. In 1969, then Mayor Ivan Allen Jr. commemorated that honor by declaring May 7, 1969 as “Stephanie Walsh Day.”

In 1976, she received a Masters in Business Administration from Georgia State University. She served as Executive Director of Leadership Atlanta before entering the printing industry, first with Xerox Corporation and then with the Williams Printing Company sales staff in Atlanta, retiring in 2002 after 16 years with that company. She was a member of Peachtree Presbyterian Church and the Atlanta Symphony Associates and a volunteer Big Sister for the Big Brother Big Sister organization.

In 2012, Stephanie relocated to Louisville, KY to be near family. She lived near downtown Louisville at Treyton Oak Towers for several years where she developed new friendships and enjoyed activities related to the arts that she loved so much.  In 2021, Stephanie moved to Anthology of Louisville (recently renamed Ashton on Dorsey) where she spent her final years.

Stephanie is survived by her two sons, Mark Thomas Walsh of Redondo Beach CA, and Craig Allen Walsh (Lisa) of Louisville KY, her 5 grandchildren and 5 great grandchildren, and her sister Dixie Dragon Klingaman (Dick) and their 3 children and grandchildren.

She will be memorialized in a private family gathering and later interred in a family plot in her hometown of Albion, NY.