McKinley Annette Ely

McKinley Annette Ely, 17 months old, of Vancleave, MS, passed away Wednesday, August 16, 2017 in Vancleave. McKinley was the daughter of Mariah and Paul “PJ” Ely, Jr. McKinley was a miracle child, born February 23, 2016. She brought joy to everyone she met. McKinley loved to laugh, roll, smile and try to crawl. She was a sassy, loving child. McKinley was a survivor and she fought with all she had. She was preceded in death by her uncles Bucket Hebert and Tyler Hebert; her aunt, Jessica Matheny; her Paw Paw Berkin; her Grammy Mel Bass; and her uncle, Stall Bangs. McKinley is survived by her parents, Mariah and PJ Ely; her grandparents, Paul and Loretta Ely and James and Virgie Matheny; her great-grandparents, Billy and Linda Matheny, Kathy Hebert, Glenda and Jr Walraven, Shirley White and Jimmy Ely; her uncles, Michael (Shelly) Wood, Brett Matheny, Heath (Liz) Hebert, Mikey Jourdan, Lynn Matheny and Richard Matheny; her aunts, Heather Hebert, Shauna (Lance) Touchstone, Michelle (Bo) Dedeaux, Erica (Dustin) Cagle, Tiffany (Darryl) Dukes; her godparents, Taylor and John Anderson; and numerous cousins. Funeral Services will be held at the Vancleave Chapel of Bradford-O’Keefe Funeral Home on Monday, August 21, 2017 at 1:00 pm. Friends may visit from 11:00 am until service time. Interment will follow at Vancleave Holiness Church Cemetery. Pallbearers will be Mikey Jordan, Ashton Parker, Cody Favre and Jacob Harbison. The family requests that everyone wear something purple in honor of McKinley and Trisomy 18 awareness.