Kelly was an accomplished horsewoman and devoted mother to her four sons. She was Producer at Airborne Traffic from 1996 to 2002, during which time she presented on-air traffic reports as "Captain Kelly" on KPOI, KQMQ, and KSSK.

She is survived by husband, Dr. Donald Blasi of Wichita, Kansas; sons, John Nicholas Sutton and Zachary Alexander Sutton of Waikane, Hawai'i and Austin Peterle of Wichita, Kansas; mother and step-father, Jeannette Hereniko and Vilsoni Hereniko of Honolulu, Hawai'i; father and step-mother G. William Paulson and Jeani Paulson of Sun City West, Arizona; brother Bradley William Paulson (Jann) of Laguna Beach, California; sister, Holly Paulson Sereni (John) of Eumundi, Australia; step-brother, Bill Barnum of Bellevue, Washington; step-sisters Randi Gonzales (Abe) of Curtis Town, Hawai'i and Kelli Kuykendall Hendry (Mikael) of Healdsburg, California; and Tony Peterle of Miami Beach, Florida, who will become guardian of their son, Austin. Their son, Dylan Peterle, preceded her in death.