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"Cowboy" Bob Kelly holds the vest he wore during his last match in 1977. Kelly was inducted on March 8, 2014, into the Lee Fields Gulf Coast Racing and Wrestling Hall of Fame along with William Moody, who is better known by U.S. wrestling fans as "Paul Bearer." Kelly and Moody were close. The late Moody was the MC for Gulf Coast Wrestling reunion shows for years before he died on March 5, 2013, in Mobile, Ala. Kelly, of Mobile, died Sunday. He was 78.

MOBILE, Alabama - "Cowboy" Bob Kelly won a lot of matches and thrilled a generation of professional wrestling fans along the Gulf Coast throughout the 1960s and 70s, winning matches in front of sold-out crowds at the Mobile Civic Center.

But he suffered arguably his greatest loss last October when his wife, Chris, of 50 years passed away. The two traveled extensively together, renewing their vows on their 50th wedding anniversary on June 28, 2008, in Alaska.

It was the death of Chris Kelly that likely led to Bob Kelly's passing early Sunday, according to long-time friend Ronald Raines.

"It was more grieving than anything," Raines said Monday.

Kelly, 78, arguably the most popular wrestler to compete in Gulf Coast Championship Wrestling, passed away at home Sunday with his family at his side. He was 78.

Kelly had been struggling form complications of lung cancer since April, Raines said.

He learned about the cancer after returning from a Cauliflower Alley Club reunion in Las Vegas - an event Kelly regularly attended with his late wife.

"They found a small spot on his lung," Raines said. "They did (several) treatments and ... it made him real weak."

Kelly lost a lot of weight in the past year, Raines said. It was a sharp contrast to tough-guy Cowboy who was a popular draw in in the Gulf Coast years ago.

A performer and promoter, Kelly worked alongside his "best friend," Lee Fields, promoting wrestling events that were televised locally. Together, the two would promote local performers in Mobile, Pensacola, Mississippi and Louisiana while coordinating with famed wrestling promoter Sam Muchnick and his National Wrestling Alliance, to bring bigger draws to the area.

The partnership between Fields and Kelly was a success. Mobile became a popular territory and Kelly was its biggest star. A native of Louisville, Ky., Kelly was the territories most popular performer - he never turned "heel," nor was represented as the villain during his stint in Mobile.

His bouts with the Wrestling Pro, Eddie Sullivan and his most heated rival, Donnie Fargo, are still talked about by older wrestling fans in the area today.

Perhaps his most famed match occurred in 1971 against "Hippie" Mike Boyette. Kelly won the match and, as a result, Boyette had his hair cut off and stuffed into bags where it was sold to Gulf Coast wrestling fans.

"I was cutting it off and tossing it through the fence to the spectators," Kelly said.

Kelly also formed a popular tag team with Ken Lucas.

Boyette did in 2012, and Lucas passed away this year.

"If you ask anyone past 50 years old that is a wrestling fan, those three guys that I mentioned, they would not say anything bad about them," Raines said. "They get mad. If I say something bad about Bob Kelly, they will get mad."

Another tough loss for Kelly also came in 2013, when Mobilian William Moody - aka, "Paul Bearer" in World Wrestling Entertainment - died.

"Percy also lost his wife where they were together for 30 years," Raines said.

Kelly retired from professional wrestling in 1977. He and his wife worked as a team in real estate as sales people for Cooper Real Estate in Mobile. They were regularly recognized for their sales in the 1970s and early 1980s.

"He did a lot of things for Mobile," Raines said. "He was instrumental for the Mardi Gras societies. He sold real estate and made top honors with Cooper Real Estate."

Kelly celebrated his professional wrestling past, and kept a shrine to his days working in the Gulf Coast.

He also had a shrine set up in his living room honoring his late wife.

Before he died, Kelly was inducted March 5, 2013, into the Lee Fields Gulf Coast Wrestling Hall of Fame on March 8.

It was a surprise to him.

They swerved me," Kelly said during an interview with AL.com earlier this year. "I always said that the guys who paved the road for me and others should go in first. I was just in tears. I was thinking about Chris at the same time. When they said Cowboy Bob Kelly, I just about fainted."

A Mass of Christian Burial will be held at Our Lady of Lourdes Catholic Church at 3 p.m. on Friday with visitation starting 1 p.m. until mass time.