Arthur "Tony" Kelso, III

Arthur Delmont Kelso, III (Tony) passed away Sunday, May 24th, 2026 at his home in Willis, Texas, at the age of 86. Born on July 12, 1939 in Wichita, Kansas, he was the only child of Maxine Emma Yentsch and Arthur Delmont Kelso, Sr.

Tony was briefly married in his younger years, and had daughter, Lana. In June of 1970, he married Diana Perry, and adopted her daughter, Stephanie, from a previous marriage.

In the 1970’s, Tony founded K- Pal Tools, located on the Katy Freeway, which he co-owned for 20 years. Shortly after he sold his portion of the business, he became a personal accountant, before retiring to Brenham in 2019. Tony was a man’s man and enjoyed fishing, hunting, and in his later years, red wine and trading stocks in the market. He always had a good story to tell, whether it was talking about something that happened yesterday, or seventy years ago. Tony, also known as Poppy, was a fun and adventurous grandpa. He and Diana took the grandkids on several “cousins” trips throughout the years. Some of those adventures included Disney World, New Braunfels, a cruise, and a train trip, as well as sleepovers and play dates. The cousin’s favorite remembrance was “poppy falls”! Tony became a Christian some time in his forties, and began attending church regularly with Diana, as well as joining small groups and bible studies through the years. He even went on a couple of mission trips to Guatemala and Honduras to help build water wells. In his last few years, he began listening to evangelical author and senior pastor, David Jeremiah, on the radio regularly, and was excited to share new thing he would learn about the Lord. In 2025, shortly after the death of his wife, he moved to Willis, Texas to be closer to family.

Tony was preceded in death by his wife of 54 years, Diana Lynn Kelso. He is survived by daughters Lana Day and husband Paul, Stephanie Milam and husband Anthony; grandchildren Chris Kantis and wife Chani, Alyssa Kantis, Ashley Remedios and husband Barrett, Megan Milam and Hunter Milam; great grandchildren Brooks, Beau and Harper Remedios, and Regan and Scotti Kantis.

The family would like to give a special thanks to Delila Medina for her wonderful care, compassion and loving kindness she showed to Tony over the past two years. We could not have done it without her!

Serving as pallbearers are Paul Day, Anthony Milam, Chris Kantis and Hunter Milam.

Visitation will be on Monday, June 1, 2026, from 9am-10am at Brenham Memorial Chapel. The funeral service will begin at 10am with Troy Sikes officiating. Burial will be in Prairie Lea Cemetery.

Services are in the care of Brenham Memorial Chapel, 2300 Stringer St., Brenham, TX 77833. 979.836.3611 Condolences may be shared at www.BrenhamMemorialChapel.com.