Robert “Kelly” Pace , 69, of Whitehouse, Texas passed away at his residence Thursday November 1st under the care of his family. He was born June 22, 1949 in New Orleans, Louisiana. He is preceded in death by his parents, William and June Pace and sister Ginger Jones. He is survived by a very loving family including his wife, Therese and four children. Will and Sam Pace and their three children Madelynn, Tatum and Trenton, Danny and Lindsey Pace, Garrett Pace and Christa Lockwood. Kelly received his J.D. from Southern Methodist University School of Law in 1975. After completing law school Kelly remained in Dallas County and began practicing in civil rights. Five years later he began his practice in criminal defense. During his time in North Texas he practiced in Dallas, Tarrant, Collin, Denton and Kaufman counties. In 1997 Kelly moved to Smith County and opened his law office at 120 S. Broadway. Within two years his practice began to thrive and he added new staff and moved into his current location at 435 S. Bois D’ Arc. While the majority of his time was spent in Smith County he also practiced in Cherokee, Gregg, Henderson, Van Zandt and Rusk Counties. Kelly has tried over 100 jury trials and over 250 bench trials. Over the past fifteen years he has dedicated much of his time to various local and statewide organizations. He served as Vice-President and President of the Smith County Criminal Defense Lawyers Association. He served on the Board of Directors and Committee Chair for the Texas Criminal Defense Lawyers Association. He was a Board Member of the Smith County Bar Association. Kelly was instrumental in the publication of the Search & Seizure manual used by attorneys throughout Texas. Each year Kelly was a speaker at numerous seminars on various criminal law topics including search & seizure. During the last few years Kelly’s law firm continued to expand. He had two partners, Brian Rollings and Jeff Wood. Diana Martinez began working as Kelly’s paralegal in 1998. Brenda Torres joined the firm as a paralegal in 2006. Kelly was proud of his firm and those that worked for him. Brian, Jeff, Diana, and Brenda will continue to move the firm forward and strive to continue Kelly’s vision to serve.