Death notice for Nicki Kelly. Nicki died peacefully at her residence in New Providence on August 2, 2025 at the age of 93.
Nicki was born in 1932 to Greek immigrants Mitchell and Irene Bantouvanis, who came to the Bahamas in the 1920s. She attended Queen’s College and later the University of Pennsylvania, where in 1953 she became the first Bahamian to receive her Bachelor of Arts degree in Journalism.
Shortly after graduating, Nicki and a female friend spent 18 months travelling 20,000 miles through Europe and the Middle East on a motorcycle. This trip afforded her a first-hand view of the escalating political unrest that followed the partition of Palestine in 1948 to create the state of Israel. It also spurred her to obtain her Master of Arts Degree in Middle East Area Studies from New York University in 1960.
On her return home, Nicki married, had a child, and settled down to life as a fulltime journalist. For more than fifty years, she witnessed and wrote about the momentous political, economic and social changes that shaped the Bahamas between 1960 and 1986, first for The Tribune, and later as editor for the Bahamas Financial Digest, and correspondent for numerous international publications and news agencies.
These included: The London Financial Times, New York Journal of Commerce, Miami Herald, Christian Science Monitor, The Economist. The Banker, World Insurance Report, and Time magazine, as well as the Reuters News Agency and Caribbean News Agency.
While working for the foreign press, Nicki achieved an international reputation for her broad knowledge and insight into the considerable forces and events that were challenging The Bahamas during this period.
After stepping back briefly from frontline journalism. Nicki took up her pen again as a columnist. In 1991, she introduced her weekly “My Turn” column to The Tribune. This was followed in 2002 through 2021 by her twice weekly “Between the Lines” column for The Punch.
Both columns proved popular as readers came to respect Nicki for her informative, provocative and often irreverent views on politics, society, the environment, and whatever else sparked her concern.
Nicki’s courage and indomitable spirit were an example to those around her. In 2023, she was named among the “special honour” recipients of the Golden Jubilee Independence Award, marking the 50th year of Bahamian Independence.
Nicki was predeceased by her husband Robert Colin Kelly, and is survived by her daughter Catherine Anne Kelly, as well as beloved relatives Irene Tiliacos Megaloudis. John Tiliacos, and Euthokia Tiliacos Lee and their families.
It was Nicki’s wish to be cremated and her ashes scattered in a private service.
