Martha Kelly Hays

Martha Malinda Kelly Hays, 87, of Milton, Georgia, passed away on August 22, 2026, at home with her family at her side.

Martha was born on March 25, 1939, in Williamston, South Carolina, the third child of Dr. Prue Kelly and Bessie Kelly. She spent her life moving from Baptist church to Baptist church and town to town, wherever her pastor father was called to serve. It was in one of these towns, Springfield, Kentucky, where Martha met the love of her life, Devers Hays. After many years in Springfield, Martha’s family made one of those pastoral moves to Atlanta, Georgia, her senior year of high school where Martha graduated from Murphy High School in 1957.

While furthering her education at Georgetown College and Eastern Kentucky, Martha and Devers were married on August 8, 1958 in Atlanta. "Mot,” as she was known by many of her family and friends, became an Army officer’s wife and after a brief stay in Indianapolis, Indiana, relocated to Baltimore, Maryland, where she and Devers welcomed their first child. After their military service was complete, the family relocated to Georgia to be close to family. While living in Decatur and Roswell, Martha welcomed two more children and began raising a family that would become the center of her world.

She had such a warm heart and kept in touch with many of her lifelong South Carolina, Kentucky, and Georgia friends and family. Her smile was infectious and those who knew her will forever remember her signature laugh. She truly had a heart of gold.

Martha was an avid reader and could devour a book in a matter of hours. She grew to love watching sports, and while she rooted for the teams that Devers and her children loved to cheer for, pulling for the Braves became her favorite pastime. Throughout her years, she also enjoyed travel. Some of her favorite trips were with her family to California, Scotland, England, Greece, Italy, Ephesus in Turkey, and France. She also visited Canada, Germany, Austria, and Switzerland. She was so proud to have visited all 50 states, and she loved to take pictures to document her adventures as well as her daily life.

But what Martha loved most in the world was her family. While she was a dedicated and wonderful wife and mother, Martha’s favorite role came in 2000 when she became a grandmother. She loved nothing more than spoiling her four grandchildren and sharing their accomplishments with her friends and family.

Along with her parents, Martha was preceded in death by her siblings Dr. Wilton Kelly, MD, Betty Howard and Ann Collins.

In addition to her loving husband, Devers, Martha is survived by her children Dev Hays (Tara), Suzanne Earp (Chuck) and Rob Hays (Kelly); her grandchildren Catie Rose Hays, Ashleigh Hays, Molly Hays and Ben Hays; her sister-in-law Linda Kelly and brothers-in-law Bill Howard and Dr. David Collins; as well as her many nieces, nephews and cousins.

A visitation will be held at 11:45am with a service beginning at 1:00pm on Friday, August 28, 2026, at Roswell Funeral Home (950 Mansell Rd., Roswell, GA). Martha will be laid to rest to at Green Lawn Cemetery. Following the interment, there will be a reception at Martha's home, a place she loved and cherished. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to any church of your choice.