Dr. William A. “Kelly” Huff

Obituary For Dr. William A. “Kelly” Huff

Dr. William A. “Kelly” Huff of Watkinsville, Georgia, age 70, passed away peacefully at home on September 23, 2026. He was born on August 7, 1956, in LaFayette, Georgia, to loving parents W.R. and Mary Lynn (Morrison) Huff. Kelly had humble beginnings, being raised on a farm in Chickamauga, Georgia, in a house that didn’t even have running water until he was 12 years old. Through nearly 30 years in academia, he became an internationally recognized and respected professor and researcher. Despite many challenges throughout his life, Kelly maintained his strong faith. He was a lifelong member of the United Methodist Church, and he read his Bible every single day from the time he was 10 years old.

In his younger years, Kelly enjoyed pretending to be a cowboy, playing football and baseball, being a member of the 4-H club, and learning all he could in school. He came from a large family - his mother was one of 10 children - and could frequently be found spending time with his many cousins. Kelly spoke fondly of Saturday evenings at the Wallace house where he and the other children would run around while their parents played Rook together. He also shared countless stories of the shenanigans that he and the Helton boys would get into, all of the adventures he took with the Morrisons, and enjoyed visits to Indiana to spend time with his “Yankee” cousins. Throughout his life, Kelly loved talking to all of his friends and family for hours on the phone, and particularly enjoyed cutting up with his “Cuz,” Eugene Smith.

Kelly was incredibly bright and motivated from a young age, but he was especially inspired to attend college by his uncle, Dwight Morrison, who was a 1966 graduate of the University of Georgia College of Pharmacy. Dwight left some of his pharmacy textbooks at Pawpaw and Mawmaw Morrison’s house, and preteen Kelly would read through them and dream of becoming a college graduate himself. Upon graduation from Gordon Lee High School in Chickamauga, Kelly enrolled as a student at Dalton Junior College, where he earned his associate’s degree and played on the golf team. He continued on to attend the University of Georgia for his bachelor’s and master’s degrees in public relations and journalism. Kelly was a member of the Zeta Beta Tau fraternity and regularly attended events all across campus, including the Great Southland Stampede Rodeo, many concerts at Stegeman Coliseum, and as many sporting events as possible. Kelly was roommates with his best friend, Alan Massengill, and they maintained their friendship for over 50 years.

Throughout college and beyond, Kelly worked as a baseball umpire and as an on-air personality in broadcast radio. After he finished his master’s degree, he was working at a radio station in Calhoun, Georgia when he got a call from Georgia Southern asking him if he had ever considered being a professor. He had not, but decided to give it a shot. He spent one year in Statesboro and enjoyed teaching at the college level, so he decided to pursue his Ph.D. Kelly moved to Hattiesburg, Mississippi, to enroll in a doctoral program and graduate assistantship at the University of Southern Mississippi. While at Southern Miss, Kelly met his beautiful wife Rita, who was also a student there. Kelly and Rita married on August 10, 1985, and they shared 41 incredible years together. Kelly was adamant that there was no one as beautiful, smart, or hardworking as Rita.

After leaving Hattiesburg, Kelly and Rita moved to several different states and universities as Kelly climbed the ranks in academia. They spent stints at West Georgia College, Western Carolina University, the University of South Alabama, Miami University (Ohio), Savannah State University, Armstrong Atlantic State University, and Truett McConnell College. In 2003, Kelly finally landed his dream job at the University of Georgia, where he remained on the faculty until he retired. Kelly had always hoped to return to Athens in his retirement, and it was a pleasant surprise that he got to return earlier than expected. He was happy that he had the opportunity to raise his children in Athens.

Over the course of his career, Kelly taught courses in over 25 subjects, including Public Speaking, Journalism, Broadcast, Public Relations, and Mass Communication. He published well over 100 articles as well as 2 books, Regulating the Future: Broadcasting Technology and Governmental Control and Public Speaking: A Concise Overview for the Twenty-first Century. Kelly was also particularly proud of the entries he contributed to the Encyclopedia of Rock & Roll, the Encyclopedia of Television, and the New Georgia Encyclopedia.

Kelly was very fond of Rock & Roll, and stood firm in his opinion that the 1970s and 1980s were the best era for music. His favorites included Black Sabbath, The Doors, the Allman Brothers Band, and the Marshall Tucker Band. He was lucky to see many of his favorite bands in concert over the years, and got to interview many acts through his journalistic work. A man of few opinions (because he believed they were actually facts), Kelly also preferred vinyl records to any other form of music media. He maintained a large collection of vinyl, and even developed a system for recording the records as they played on the turntable so he could get the vinyl sound on his iPod (which he referred to as “his machine”). Kelly loved singing along with the radio and his machine, and it was not uncommon for him to randomly burst into song around the house. Following in the tradition of his father, W.R., Kelly also came up with many original and silly songs for his children that he sang for us well into adulthood.

Though Kelly was known internationally for his academic contributions, his greatest accomplishment in life was raising a loving family. Along with his wife, Rita, his children, John and Laura, were his greatest pride and joy. Through many years of the kids being involved in football, baseball, wrestling, softball, volleyball, 4-H, and other clubs, Kelly made sure that they never missed a practice or game, and instilled the importance of following through on commitments and showing up for your team. He taught John and Laura to never give up, and he made sure they knew to love God, love people, and love Georgia Football. He told everyone he could that John was a Georgia Bulldogs football player, and bragged about his kids at every opportunity.

Kelly spent the last several years of his life battling various health issues. Despite the challenges that he faced, his spirit never faltered. Rita, John, and Laura ensured that he continued having opportunities to travel and enjoy his life. In his last couple of years, Kelly enjoyed a trip to Hawaii, took multiple trips to Florida and Iowa, visited New Orleans to see the Dawgs play in the Sugar Bowl, and in the final football game he ever attended, he saw the Dawgs beat the nerds of Georgia Tech in Mercedes-Benz Stadium. Even when the future seemed bleak, Kelly was determined to beat the odds and prove all the doctors wrong. He kept everyone laughing through the many appointments, hospital visits, and long nights.

Kelly was incredibly thoughtful and tried his best to look out for others. In August 2026, he fell into a coma at Emory University Hospital, and against all odds, he woke up after several days. On the day before he was discharged home to begin hospice services, Kelly offered his contact information to a young hospital employee in the nutrition department. She had delivered a lunch tray, and Kelly, unsurprisingly, struck up a conversation. The employee mentioned that she had always dreamt of attending college, but she thought the ship had sailed. Kelly gave her his email address, and told her he would help her learn about college and write her a recommendation letter if needed. Even on one of his worst days, Kelly still wanted to help others achieve more. That is a perfect example of who he was.

Kelly did not plan to be buried, nor have a headstone. However, he told Laura recently that if he did have a tombstone, he would want it to say “Never Gave Up.” There has never been a truer statement than that. Kelly fought for a long time, and he never gave up on the hope of getting better. We are incredibly sad to no longer have him here with us, but we rejoice that he is healed in heaven and is no longer in pain.

Kelly’s legacy will live on in those he loved - his wife, Rita; son, John Huff of Ankeny, Iowa; daughter, Laura Lynn Huff of Watkinsville, Georgia; soon-to-be son-in-law and fellow ZBT brother, Ronnie Kent, Jr. of Athens, Georgia; uncle Dale (Linda) Morrison of Kensington, Georgia; uncles Dwight Morrison and Harrison Mathis of Rome, Georgia; as well as many cousins, nieces, nephews, and friends.

A memorial scholarship has been established with the Georgia 4-H Foundation. In lieu of flowers, the family suggests making a donation to the Dr. W.A. Kelly Huff Never Give Up Scholarship endowment. Donations can be made using the following link: https://georgia4hfoundation.org/dr-wa-kelly-huff/

An informal gathering to remember Kelly will be scheduled at a later date. John, alongside Kelly, Rita, and Laura, has been writing a memoir of Kelly’s life and the Huff family as a whole. The book, titled Outhouse to the Dawghouse: From Appalachia to Athens and Back Again, is to be published in the coming months. We hope you will consider purchasing a copy and helping to keep Kelly’s story alive. If you would like to be notified of plans for the gathering, when the book is published, or to receive more information about the scholarship endowment, please complete the form at this link: https://bit.ly/kellyhuff

The Central Cremation Services staff considers it a privilege to support the family of Dr. William A. “Kelly” Huff during this time.

(At the request of the family, please do not order flowers or send them to the cremation facility.)

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