Carole Kell, wife of legendary coach Carlton ‘Corky’ Kell, passes at 85

Carole Kell spent years on the sidelines and in the stands of high school football stadiums and gymnasiums watching her husband, Carlton ‘Corky’ Kell coach at Wheeler High School. And anyone in the high school sports world knows, it is not easy being a coach’s wife.

But for Mrs. Kell, it was.

She was Corky’s confidant during his years as an athletic director for the Cobb County School District. She was by her husband’s side when he passed away from lung cancer, far too soon, at age 57 in 1995.

"Score Atlanta has always been a big fan of Mrs. Kell and we all enjoyed working with her in the Classic named for her husband," said I.J. Rosenberg, president of Score Atlanta and Executive Director of the Corky Kell + Dave Hunter Classic. "She will be dearly missed, and our prayers go out to her family."

Carole loved attending high school football games – especially the games of the Corky Kell Kickoff Classic, as it was once known before being renamed the Corky Kell + Dave Hunter Classic to honor Corky’s dear friend and former Brookwood head football coach Dave Hunter.

And of course, she loved her Kell Longhorns.

‘Corky’ was the namesake of Carlton J. Kell High School and the school’s mascot, the Longhorns, was selected by Carole and a group of students when the school opened in February 2001. In 2011, Carole and her son Tain Kell attended the ribbon cutting of the new turf field at Wheeler’s football stadium, which is named after Corky.

Carole was a pillar of the high school football community in the state and will be dearly missed by those who knew her.