Kelly Nelon Clark (December 1, 1959 – July 26, 2024) was an American inspirational Christian and southern gospel vocalist. Nelon was the head of the family singing group known as

the Nelons The Nelons, formerly the Rex Nelon Singers, were an American southern gospel group based in Atlanta, Georgia. Group members included Kelly Nelon Clark, her husband Jason Clark, and Kelly's daughters Amber Nelon Kistler and Autumn Nelon Streetman. ...

. The group was inducted into the

Gospel Music Hall of Fame The Gospel Music Hall of Fame, created in 1972 by the Gospel Music Association, is a hall of fame dedicated exclusively to recognizing meaningful contributions by individuals and groups in all forms of gospel music. Inductees This is an incompl ...

in 2016. She had continued the Nelon singing name after her father, gospel singer Rex Nelon. Nelon won Singing News Fan Awards in the categories of Favorite Alto and Favorite Female Vocalist in 1980, 1981, 1982, 1987, and 1990. She was associated with

Bill Gaither William James Gaither (born March 28, 1936) is an American singer and songwriter of Southern gospel and contemporary Christian music. He has written numerous popular Christian songs with his wife Gloria; he is also known for performing as par ...

Homecoming Homecoming is the tradition of welcoming back alumni or other former members of an organization to celebrate the organization's existence. It is a tradition in many high schools, colleges, and churches in the United States and Canada. United St ...

events. In 2017, she released a memoir titled “''Coffee with Kelly; Reflections of Hope and Humor''”. She and six others including her husband and daughter died on July 26, 2024, after their private plane crashed into a remote area in

Campbell County, Wyoming Campbell County is a county in the U.S. state of Wyoming. As of the 2020 United States census, the population was 47,026, making it the third-most populous county in Wyoming. Its county seat is Gillette. Campbell County comprises the Gillette, ...

Life and career

The daughter of gospel music singer Rex Nelon and his wife Shirley (

née The birth name is the name of the person given upon their birth. The term may be applied to the surname, the given name or to the entire name. Where births are required to be officially registered, the entire name entered onto a births registe ...

Reeves), Kelly Nelon and her brother, Todd Nelon, were raised in

Smyrna, Georgia Smyrna is a city in Cobb County, Georgia, United States. It is located northwest of Atlanta, and is in the inner ring of the Atlanta Metropolitan Area. It is included in the Atlanta–Sandy Springs–Alpharetta MSA, which is included in the Atla ...

. When she was a teenager, Nelon Clark was invited to join the southern gospel group the LeFevres. When the group disbanded in the late 1970s, she became part of her father's southern gospel group, the Rex Nelon Singers. Following his death in 2000, she remained with the group, singing alto, and changing the group's name to The Nelons. At the time of her death, Nelon had been with the group for more than 40 years. She recorded solo albums while traveling with the Nelons, including ''Her Father's Child'' in 1983, ''Praise Him Now'' in 1985, ''Called by Love'' in 1988, ''KNT'' in 1990, and ''Steadfast Heart'' in 1992. Nelon Clark appeared on television in ''

Resurrection Resurrection or anastasis is the concept of coming back to life after death. Reincarnation is a similar process hypothesized by other religions involving the same person or deity returning to another body. The disappearance of a body is anothe ...

'' and ''

Homicide Hunter ''Homicide Hunter'' (also known as ''Homicide Hunter: Lt. Joe Kenda'') is an American crime documentary television series which aired on the Investigation Discovery (ID) television network for nine seasons, totalling 144 episodes. The series show ...

'', where she played the role of Carol Parmer. She also starred in the films ''The Old Rugged Cross'' and ''His Love Is Blind''.

Personal life

Nelon Clark was married to Jerry Thompson, the former lead singer of the Nelons, for almost 20 years. The couple divorced in 1998. Together, they had two daughters, Amber and Autumn. Nelon Clark remarried in 2001 to Jason Clark, who became the new lead singer of the Nelons. Both of Nelon Clark's daughters became members of the Nelons, with Amber singing soprano beginning in 2002 and Autumn singing alto, as well as 2nd soprano, beginning in 2014.

Death

Kelly Nelon Clark, husband Jason, daughter Amber, and son-in-law Nathan Kistler were among the seven people killed in a plane crash on Friday July 26, 2024, in a remote area of

, just north of

Gillette, Wyoming Gillette (, ''Help:Pronunciation respelling key, jih-LET'') is a city in and the county seat of Campbell County, Wyoming, United States. The town was founded in 1891 as a major railway town on the Chicago, Burlington and Quincy Railroad. The po ...

. The plane and passengers were en route to

Seattle, Washington Seattle ( ) is the List of municipalities in Washington, most populous city in the U.S. state of Washington (state), Washington and in the Pacific Northwest region of North America. With a population of 780,995 in 2024, it is the List of Unit ...

to embark on a

Gaither Homecoming ''Gaither Homecoming'' is the name applied to a series of videos, music recordings and concerts, which are organized, promoted and usually presented by Christian music songwriter and impresario Bill Gaither. Beginnings On February 19, 1992, the ...

cruise to

Alaska Alaska ( ) is a non-contiguous U.S. state on the northwest extremity of North America. Part of the Western United States region, it is one of the two non-contiguous U.S. states, alongside Hawaii. Alaska is also considered to be the north ...

. Also killed in the crash were Nelon Clark's assistant, Melodi Hodges, pilot Larry Haynie, and Haynie's wife, Melissa Haynie. At the time of their deaths, Nelon Clark and her husband lived in the

Atlanta Atlanta ( ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Georgia (U.S. state), most populous city in the U.S. state of Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia. It is the county seat, seat of Fulton County, Georg ...

area. There, she and her husband owned and operated "Venue 1074", a farm with a wedding and event location in

Roopville, Georgia Roopville is a town in Carroll County, Georgia, United States. The population was 231 in 2020, up from 218 at the 2010 census. History Roopville was founded in 1881 by John K. Roop, and named for him. The Georgia General Assembly incorporated ...

. On August 6, 2024, a memorial service for Nelon Clark and her family members lost in the crash was held at Roopville Road Baptist Church in

. The service was live-streamed on YouTube. Music during the service was provided by

the Isaacs The Isaacs are a bluegrass Southern gospel music group consisting of mother Lily Isaacs (b. September 20, 1947), daughters Becky (b. Aug. 2, 1975) and Sonya Isaacs (b. July 22, 1974) and son Ben Isaacs (b. July 25, 1972), along with John Bowma ...

, the

Gaither Vocal Band The Gaither Vocal Band is an American southern gospel vocal group, named after its founder and leader Bill Gaither. On March 1, 2017, it was announced that the Gaither Vocal Band lineup consisted of Reggie Smith, Wes Hampton, Adam Crabb, Todd ...

, Karen Peck Gooch,

Janet Paschal Janet Paschal (born October 18, 1956) is an inspirational gospel vocalist. She has released numerous albums in that genre and has received multiple fan awards and Grammy and Dove Award nominations. She is also a songwriter and published author. ...

, Michael English, and Charlotte Ritchie. Remembrances of the Nelons were offered by

Gloria Gaither Gloria Gaither (born March 4, 1942) is a Christian singer-songwriter, author, speaker, editor, and academic. She is married to Bill Gaither and together they have written more than 700 songs. In 2000, ASCAP named them Christian Songwriters of the ...

, Todd Nelon, Bruce Snead, Dave Kistler as well as the church's pastors, Billy Wood and Stephen Peeples.

Discography

Solo albums

* 1983: ''Her Father's Child'' * 1985: ''Praise Him Now'' * 1988: ''Called by Love'' * 1990: ''KNT'' * 1992: ''Steadfast Heart''

With the LeFevres

*1975: ''Experience the LeFevres'' *1976: ''Gospel Music U.S.A.'' *1977: ''Sing Your Request'' *1977: ''Singing 'Till He Comes''

With the Rex Nelon Singers

*1977: ''I've Never Been This Homesick Before'' *1977: ''The Sun's Coming Up'' *1978: ''Live'' *1979: ''Feelings'' *1980: ''Expressions of Love'' *1980: ''One More Song'' *1980: ''Sing the Gospel'' *1981: ''One Step Closer'' *1982: ''Feeling at Home '' *1983: ''We Shall Behold the King'' *1984: ''The Best & a Whole Lot More''

As the Nelons

* 1985: ''In One Accord'' * 1986: ''Journeys'' * 1987: ''Thanks'' * 1988: ''Get Ready'' * 1989: ''Let the Redeemed Say So'' * 1990: ''The Best of Times'' * 1991: ''One Less Stone'' * 1991: ''A New Generation'' * 1992: ''Right on Time'' * 1993: ''Kelly Nelon Thompson & the Nelons'' * 1994: ''A Promised Reunion'' * 1994: ''He's My Comfort'' * 1994: ''Triumphant'' * 1995: ''Hallelujah Live'' * 1996: ''We're Glad You're Here'' * 1997: ''We've Got to Praise Him'' * 1997: ''Thanks Live'' * 1997: ''All Rise Live'' * 1998: ''Peace Within the Walls'' * 1999: ''A Journey'' * 2000: ''Following After'' * 2001: ''Season of Song 1 Nelon Classics'' * 2002: ''United for Christ'' * 2003: ''Season of Song 2'' * 2004: ''The Light of Home'' * 2008: ''You Are God'' * 2010: ''Beside Still Waters'' * 2011: ''Come On Home'' * 2012: ''Evening in December'' * 2014: ''Hymns: The A Capella Sessions'' * 2016: ''Stronger Together'' EP * 2016: ''Family Harmony'' * 2016: ''A Nelon Family Christmas'' * 2017: ''The Americana Sessions'' * 2018: ''A Winter Carol'' * 2020: ''Peace at Last'' * 2022: ''We Need a Little Christmas'' * 2023: ''Beautiful'' * 2024: ''Loving You'' (the final album that Nelon Clark appeared on, released posthumously shortly after her death)

Guest appearances on other albums

*1985: First Call - ''An Evening in December'', song "Evening in December""

References

External links

* *
The Nelons official website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Nelon, Kelly 1959 births 2024 deaths People from Cobb County, Georgia Actresses from Atlanta Singers from Atlanta Southern gospel performers The Nelons members Victims of aviation accidents or incidents in 2024 Victims of aviation accidents or incidents in the United States 20th-century American actresses 21st-century American actresses 20th-century American women singers 21st-century American women singers Accidental deaths in Wyoming