Melady Prudence Kehm

Kehm—Melady Prudence Kehm, 78, on May 20, 2024, in Bellafonte, Pa. Melady was born on October 31, 1945, to Robert Melvin Kehm Jr. and Mildred May Myers in Baltimore, Md. Melady joined her teenage siblings, Estella Kehm and Robert Melvin Kehm III, and grew up almost like an only child. She attended school in Perry Hall, Md., and while a student penned the alma mater of Overlea High School. A talented writer, she studied journalism at Western Maryland College.

After graduating, Melady married Walter Klausmeier and accompanied him to Japan, where he served in the U.S. Navy. There, she worked at The Seahawk, the newspaper for the 7th Fleet. The flight to Japan so terrified Melady that she refused to fly again. The couple eventually settled in Bellefonte, Pa., where Melady joined and soon became president of the newly formed Bellefonte Historical and Cultural Association. With a handful of other civic-minded souls, Melady helped shape the cultural renaissance Bellefonte experienced in the 1970s and ’80s. With a friend, Melady launched Summer Sounds from the Gazebo in Talleyrand Park, a concert series still going strong in its forty-fourth season.

Melady’s life took a major turn when she met Rob Gannon, a neighbor also involved in renewing Bellefonte. Melady, who never surrendered to propriety, fell in love. She left her husband and on October 25, 1991, she and Rob were married. Rob served on the Board of the Bellefonte Cemetery Association, which owns and manages the historic Union Cemetery. Its nineteenth-century gatehouse, dramatically framing the entrance to the cemetery, was vacant and derelict. Rob and Melady purchased the gatehouse for their new home. After Rob restored the exterior and renovated the interior, Melady moved there with her new husband. The gatehouse is now a Bellefonte icon, featured on calendars and walking tours. Soon after Rob retired in 1999, the couple bought a modest house on Pine Island, Fla., and began wintering there. They loved to dance and began visiting dance studios in Naples and Fort Myers. Everyone admired how Rob would sweep Melady across the floor as they waltzed. After Rob died in 2003, Melady sold the Pine Island house but continued to visit the area each winter.

In 2008, Melady became a member of State College (Pa.) Meeting, where she was active on the Library Committee. In recent years, her health precluded attendance at the meetinghouse.

From her high school days to her untimely end, Melady marched to the beat of a different drummer. She wrote lucid prose, loved every dog and baby she met, drank too much wine, danced like a butterfly, and sang like a hot momma from the wrong side of the tracks. Melady was a hoarder, a helper, and a hollerer, and was generous to a fault.

Melady was predeceased by her husband, Rob Gannon; her parents; her sister, Estella Kehm Kirby; her brother, Robert Melvin Kehm III; and a niece, Bronwyn.

She is survived by four nieces and one nephew; and her consort of the past decade, Joseph Griffin.