08/12/2026
Ralph "Mac" McLain Kelton, Jr.
Ralph McLain “Mac” Kelton, Jr., age 78, of Brentwood, Tennessee, passed away on August 10, 2026.
Mac was born on March 4, 1948, in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, to Ralph McLain Kelton, Sr. and Vira Mae Harvey Kelton. He grew up in Baton Rouge and attended elementary school at Louisiana State University Laboratory School. He graduated from University High at LSU in 1965 and from Louisiana State University in 1969. While at LSU, Mac was a member of Kappa Sigma Fraternity and, most significantly, met his future wife, Susan.
Mac and Susan were married for 45 years and raised three sons, Rhett, Jeremy and Clay, in Brentwood. He was always intentional about being present for his sons’ and grandchildren’s activities and cherished every opportunity to support and celebrate them. Fittingly, his McLain name lives on through three of his grandchildren—one from each of his sons: Wyatt Mclain Kelton, McLain “Lainey” Catherine Kelton and Molly McLain Kelton.
During college, Mac sold books with the Southwestern Company, an experience that brought him to Nashville after college in a sales management role. During those years, he developed many friendships that would last throughout his life. Mac was talented at recruiting, training and encouraging exceptional people to do an exceptional job. He was responsible for helping many individuals achieve their full potential.
Mac’s real estate career began at Pacesetter Partners, which in 1982 he developed into an ERA franchise, Pacesetter Properties in Brentwood. For the next 25 years, he and Susan worked side by side managing their real estate brokerage and property management company and helping families throughout the Nashville area buy and sell homes. Again in real estate, Mac used his extraordinary talent to recruit, train and encourage others.
Mac and Susan were founding members of Christ Presbyterian Church and Christ Presbyterian Academy, where all three of their sons attended school. His Christian faith was central to his life and eventually led him to begin a ministry in Belize. For more than 20 years, Belize became one of Mac’s great passions as he led mission trips from Nashville and invested deeply in the people and communities he served there.
Mac also loved the outdoors and working with his hands. He spent countless hours on his hobby farm in Brentwood, where he planted and cared for a wide variety of native Tennessee trees and maintained an extensive garden. He loved fishing and traveling and was always ready for a new adventure or experience. He had an insatiable desire to continue learning and growing and, in recent years, developed a new skill in woodworking. He became a member of The Forge, a makerspace in Nashville, and was beloved by this creative community. As with so many things he pursued, Mac immersed himself in learning to program and operate sophisticated machinery and used those skills to create unique sanctuary birdhouses that he loved giving to others.
Mac was also an “idea guy.” He was naturally curious and always thinking about something new. He loved sitting in his recliner, reading, daydreaming and letting his mind wander toward the next idea, project or possibility. It was simply part of who he was.
After Susan’s passing, Mac was blessed to find love again. In 2020, he married Nancy Huffaker Kelton. Nancy’s son, Aaron, and his wife, Samantha, became an important part of Mac’s family, and the arrival of their two children brought even more joy and added two more grandchildren to Mac’s already large and much-loved family. Mac and Nancy built a full life together, entertaining family and friends, seizing every opportunity to celebrate their children and grandchildren, gardening, supporting the Belize ministries, traveling, worshipping at Christ Presbyterian Church and growing nearer to Christ through their morning Bible study together, led by the Holy Spirit.
Mac was a devoted husband, father, grandfather and friend. He will be remembered for his kindness, humor, generosity and deep faith. His love for God shaped the way he lived and the way he cared for others—through his family, his church, his friendships and his years of ministry in Belize. He loved his family deeply, treasured time with his children and many grandchildren, and found some of his greatest joy simply being surrounded by the people closest to him.
Mac was preceded in death by his parents, Ralph McLain Kelton, Sr. and Vira Mae Harvey Kelton; his wife of 45 years, Susan Kelton; his sister-in-law, Claudia Kelton; and his brothers-in-law, Frank Racz, and Sidney Longwell.
Mac is survived by his wife, Nancy Huffaker Kelton; his three sons and their families: Rhett and Andrea Kelton and their children, Wyatt and Kendall; Jeremy and Erin Kelton and their daughter, Molly; and Clay and Rebecca Kelton and their children, Piper, Lainey and Knox. He is also survived by Nancy’s son, Aaron Huffaker, his wife, Samantha, and their children, Callan and Ellis; his two brothers, Robert Kelton and John (Sue) Kelton; his three sisters, Maywood Racz, Sealann Longwell and Sally (Huey) Thomas; as well as many other family members and friends who loved him dearly.
A memorial service celebrating Mac’s life will be held Saturday, August 15, 2026, at 2:00 p.m. at Christ Presbyterian Church. The family will receive friends at the church from 12:00 p.m. until the time of the service.
In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions may be made to the Christ Presbyterian Church Memorial Fund in honor of Mac Kelton. Contributions made in his memory will support the Belize ministries.
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