Susan Croce Kelly is a former newspaper reporter in Springfield, and the prize-winning author of two important books of Route 66 history.

Her most recent book, Newspaperwoman of the Ozarks, the Life & Times of Lucile Morris Upton (University of Arkansas Press), speaks to Kelly’s own love of the newspaper world, her love of Ozarks history, and her fascination with the time just beyond most people’s memories.

Kelly grew up in Kirkwood, earned a BS degree from Purdue University, and a Research Master’s degree from Saint Louis University. Her career led her to be a newspaper reporter St. Louis and Springfield, an award-winning columnist in Texas, and public relations executive in St. Louis and Chicago. She worked in Belgium and England, founded Ozarks Magazine, and is presently managing editor of OzarksWatch, a magazine of Ozarks history & culture. She and her husband, Joel Kirkpatrick, live in Springfield. They have three children & two perfect grandchildren.”