STARTREK.COM has just learned that Carolyn Dowling Kelley, widow of DeForest Kelley, (Dr. McCoy) has passed away. DeForest and Carolyn were married for 53 years. (DeForest died on June 11, 1999.)

Kelley met his future wife when they were in the same play together, "The Innocent Young Man," at the Long Beach Theatre Group in 1942. They married three years later and remained virtually inseparable their entire married life. The Kelleys had no children.

Carolyn's death follows several years of ill health.