Athol, MA – NYC Night club legend Kelly Dunkle was born on September 03, 1942 in Butler, PA. Her father was Orville Dunkle her mother was Lulu Dunkle. Kelly grew up with her siblings Phyllis, Denny, and Gary. She moved to NYC in 1960, she was a true child of the sixties.
A Stonewall veteran Kelly was a leader and on the forefront of the LGBTQ movement and Lifestyle. A pioneer of NYC night life.
She passed away at the age of 83, peacefully surrounded by family and friends in Athol, MA on February 11th, where she had retired to live in nature, after many decades of living as a fixture in iconic Greenwich Village, NY.
She owned and presided over the legendary Kelly’s Village West on the corner of Bedford and 7th Ave.
She was a veteran of the Stonewall uprising. She joins her multi decade partner Molly Bennett Aitken who’s death preceded her in June.
Kelly loved gardening and was a world class chef, she loved feeding her wild birds and other denizen critters. She was the life of the party anytime anywhere at any age. She will be missed by her scores of friends.
She is survived by her younger brother Denny Dunkle, her step children Hannah Aitken, Frederick Marks, Jacqueline Marks, Sean Marks and her niece and nephew Shannon Reinoehl and Gary Dunkle.
A Celebration of Life is planned for May.
Click here to sign the guest book or honor their memory with flowers, donations, or other heartfelt tributes