Helen E. Kelley

Helen Elizabeth Kelley

December 14, 1952 - September 12, 2026

Helen Elizabeth Kelley, an attorney, died peacefully amid her family on the evening of Saturday, September 12, 2026.

Elizabeth, as she was called, was born on December 14, 1952, in Charlottesville, Virginia, the eldest child of Matthias Francis Kelley, Jr. and Helen Marie McDonough, both of Richmond, Virginia.

She grew up in Richmond, where she attended Collegiate School and graduated from Huguenot High School. Elizabeth attended Hollins College in Roanoke, Virginia, where she studied political science and was inducted into Phi Beta Kappa. She always spoke fondly of her time studying abroad in Paris, France, with Hollins and, later, living and working in Corsica and Caen, France, where she taught English.

Elizabeth returned to the United States and graduated from the University of Virginia School of Law in 1979. She practiced law in Chicago, Illinois, where she met her husband, John Edward Horn.

Elizabeth and John were married in Richmond on December 1, 1984, and reared their family in Oak Forest, Illinois, later relocating to Hinsdale, Illinois. In addition to rearing their three children, John and Elizabeth formed a law partnership representing claimants in Social Security disability claims.

Elizabeth is survived by her husband, John, and their three children, Anne Horn Baroody and her husband, Sam Baroody; Elizabeth Parham Horn and her husband, Sam Freel; and John Matthias Francis Horn and his wife, Kaytee Horn.

She is also survived by her five grandchildren, John "Jack" and Helen "Lena" Baroody, Penelope Freel, and Kassidy and Kaia Horn.

Elizabeth is further survived by her siblings, Alix Kelley Miller and her husband, Al Miller; Matthias Francis Kelley III and his wife, Margaret Kelley; and Maura Kelley Higginbotham and her husband, Tom Higginbotham; four nieces and nephews; and her cousins, James and John Wilkinson.

Visitation will be held on Tuesday, September 22, 2026, from 4:00 p.m. until 6:00 p.m. at Bliley's - Central, 3801 Augusta Avenue, Richmond, Virginia 23230.

Funeral services will be held on Wednesday, September 23, 2026, at 10:00 a.m. at St. Andrew's Episcopal Church, 236 S. Laurel St., Richmond, Virginia 23220. Interment will follow at Westhampton Memorial Park.

A memorial service will also be held at Vandenberg Funeral Home in Illinois in November, with further information to be announced.

Elizabeth loved and supported animals in need. In lieu of flowers, please consider a contribution to the ASPCA in her memory.