Mabel Kelling

Mabel Lorraine Kelling (Quinly) passed away on September 6, 2025 at Aitkin Health Services at the age of 89.

She was born on July 18, 1936 in El Reno, Oklahoma to Clarendon Joseph (CJ) and Mabel (King) Quinly.

Mabel married Gene Kelling on March 15, 1962. Gene was in the army so they moved around a bit, even living in Germany for a time. In 1965 they moved to Aitkin and bought a farm and raised 3 children.

Mabel mostly worked at home, raising the kids and helping to run the farm although she did work seasonally processing wild rice at the local plant for a few years. Even after being diagnosed with Multiple Sclerosis, she didn’t let it stop her from chasing kids and cows and doing volunteer work. She was active in the VFW and was chair of the Voice of Democracy contest. She loved encouraging young people to learn about their history and country. She also volunteered as Girl Scout leader for a time and enjoyed the field trips and projects as much as the girls did. She also enjoyed crocheting and if you were having a baby, you were on her list for new baby blanket.

One of her biggest regrets was not graduating from high school so she started taking classes and got her diploma in 1997 at the age of 60. She even walked for her diploma with the high school class. She was so proud and so were we!

Mabel and Gene later divorced, and she moved to Brainerd and eventually to assisted living and then a nursing home as her MS progressed. But she always kept her brain active by reading until her eyes gave out and watching political news and educational programs (although her guilty pleasure was The Curse of Oak Island!) and college sports. She enjoyed learning new things and sharing tidbits of trivia and knowledge with her family and caregivers. Her room was full of scraps of paper with notes she wanted to remember and titles of books she wanted to read. The library was on speed dial and they were awesome at tracking down the books she was looking for.

Mabel loved her granddaughters and always wanted to hear about what they were doing. She attended as many programs, competitions and graduations as possible, even after being confined to a wheelchair.

She was proceeded in death by her parents. She is survived by her former husband Gene, three children; Calvin Kelling of Brainerd, Myrna Thrugstad of Pine River and Liz (Rob) Harmon of Aitkin; 4 grandchildren and 3 great grandchildren.

A celebration of life will be held at a later date with interment at the Cedar Lake Norwegian Lutheran (Dorris) cemetery in Aitkin. In lieu of flowers or gifts, please consider making a donation in her name to the National Multiple Sclerosis Society, the ACLU or your local library.

Arrangements have been entrusted to the Brenny Family Funeral Chapel, Baxter.