Joseph Aaron Kelly, Sr., 1911-1992

Called to a servant's role, the Rev. Joseph A. Kelly, Sr. loved the people given into his care with all his heart. Joe was born in Fayette County, Penn., May 3, 1911, one of seven children. While in grade school, his family moved to Maryland. He spent eight years in the coast artillery, Quartermaster Corps. In 1943, he joined the Army. He was wounded in action in Italy, receiving the Purple Heart. After the war, he and his wife, Gladys, moved to Pennsylvania and began their family. Joe worked in construction but soon found a nice farm in West Virginia. Shortly thereafter he responded to a persistent call to the ministry and enrolled at West Virginia University.

Joe began his full-time ministry in West Virginia in 1951, by serving the Wyatt Circuit. On to Blacksville in 1953, Masontown in 1957 and, after serving at Grafton-St. John for about one year, he transferred to the Virginia conference in 1961. His first appointment was to the West Dinwiddie Charge. It was in this area, 15 years later, that Joe would retire and sink his roots firmly into Virginia soil. Until then, Joe served at Anderson Memorial from 1965, at Bayleys Chapel from 1967, Ridgeway from 1970, and at Middleburg from 1974 until he retired in 1976. For that first year of retirement he also served Bethia in the Petersburg District and North Amelia. Later he served as visiting minister at Highland, Colonial Heights.

Joe and Gladys have six children; Lillian K. Gabriel, Richmond; Joseph A. Kelly, II, Patrick J. Kelly, and William G. Kelly all of Sutherland; Michael R. Kelly, Wilmore, Kentucky; and Mary M. Kelly, San Francisco. Joe continued his ministry by supporting the churches he once pastored and lending moral and emotional support to the pastors in the charge. In a homey woodshop he built on their land, Joe designed and built furniture and other wood crafts. He also designed and built a small house behind the main building that will house a small family in privacy.

The toll of his wartime service eventually resulted in a brace fit to his leg to accommodate the muscle loss. But a good man cannot be kept down and Joe continued to serve his Lord to the last. Though weakened and experiencing increased difficulty moving, Joe visited the sick and dying in this community. Finally, unable to stand for long and succumbing to a sudden brain tumor, he was hospitalized. When it was clear that nothing else could be done, he asked to be brought home. He wanted to die among the family he loved and the many friends to whom he had ministered for many years.

In those final weeks of life, Joe continued to praise God and minister to those who came to him. Early on November 10, 1992, Joe received his final appointment. His body was buried at Trinity Cemetery, in the shade of the church and the flag of his country.

Joe is survived by his wife and children; a sister, Lillian Hall of Sebring, Fla.; eight grandchildren; and two great-grandchildren.

-John E. DeJong