Rest in peace, Uncle Ron - PeachParts Mercedes-Benz Forum

ramonajim · #1 09-09-2013, 10:52 AM

Quote:

Kelley strived for a better city

Rare illness claims life of community pillar at forefront of service, revitalization work.

By Ken Stephens and Kathy Hanks - The Hutchinson News

A brain disease that strikes one in a million took the life of Ron Kelley on Saturday.

Kelley, the retired Dillons executive and relentless civic and community volunteer, was 74. Family and friends were stunned by his diagnosis with Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease in late August and his rapid deterioration.

"What makes it so unbelievable is that he was in perfect health," said his wife of 52 years, Lovella Kelley. "It is absolutely, devastating."

Kelley had been an active participant in a Housing Commission meeting on July 24. He missed the next meeting on Aug. 24 because he was in Boston, where he was diagnosed with Creutzfeldt-Jakob, an always fatal disease that is characterized by rapidly progressive dementia and has no known treatment or cure.

Whether it was his church or his city, when there was a job to be done, Kelley was willing.

"He was always there," said Downtown Development Director Jim Seitnater, a longtime friend.

Kelley was a member of the Trinity Catholic school board, an organizer of the Ulster Project and a founder of the Catholics United Credit Union.

He served several stints totaling more than a decade on the Hutchinson Planning Commission and was chairman in 2009 when the commission began work on the first major rewrite of zoning regulations since 1987. Those new regulations were adopted in 2010, shortly after he left the Planning Commission.

Kelley moved, almost without a break, to the Housing Commission when he could no longer serve on the Planning Commission because of term limits.

He served on a committee to select a new city manager twice, once in 1991 and again in 2004 when the city hired the current manager, John Deardoff.

Kelley's priest, Father Joe Eckberg, was also shocked at how quickly Kelley, a man so vital and with such a brilliant mind, could perish from the horrific disease. When Eckberg first arrived in town, he quickly learned what an impact Ron had not just on the Catholic community, but the Hutchinson community.

"Ron touched a lot of lives," said Eckberg. "Just after I came, he opened Sarah's Catholic Bookstore, named after his oldest child. It was his dream to have the store in Hutchinson, and he made it happen."

The book store was his legacy, Lovella said.

"You would never make money in a bookstore," she said. "The legacy was that people came because they knew he was there and if they needed something he would help them get it."

Starting a local Society of St. Vincent de Paul, an international Catholic voluntary organization dedicated to serving the poor and disadvantaged, was also Kelley's brain child, said Eckberg. Instead of giving the poor money, they go with them to the grocery store and buy food, or fill up someone's car with gas.

There was much he did to help others quietly behind the scenes. He was always trying to make the world a better place for everyone and began with his own six children and 23 grandchildren. A gentle man, they can't recall him ever raising his voice.

He and Lovella took guardianship of a man known as Willie, who walked Main Street pushing a shopping cart and feeding the cats in Avenue A Park. They began feeding Willie lunch every day and got him into a local assisted care home, where they continued to visit him.

An unabashed promoter of downtown Hutchinson, Kelley was a member, and later chairman, of the Mayor's Task Force on Downtown Revitalization and then became the first chairman of the Downtown Hutchinson Revitalization Partnership, an organization he continued to serve until his death. In 2003, he was honored as a Kansas Main Street Volunteer of the Year.

For years, Kelley also was involved in efforts to redevelop the Wiley Building at First and Main.

While he was chairman, the DHRP unsuccessfully tried to purchase the building from George Nerhan on behalf of one potential developer. He also was a member of the Wiley Task Force, appointed by the City Council in 2008 to study the feasibility of renovating the building into a new City Hall. Because of his illness, it was uncertain whether he knew that another developer finally was able to complete a difficult purchase of the building on Aug. 26.

He also served on the Reno County/Hutchinson Intergovernmental Commission, which in the 1980s recommended consolidation of the Reno County Sheriff's Office and the Hutchinson Police Department, though nothing ever came of that recommendation.

Seitnater agreed that Kelley's involvement in civic affairs was so pervasive that it likely will take more than one person to fill his shoes.

"He was very much giving of his time and talent and his resources," Seitnater said.

But, he also took time to enjoy life.

Kelley learned to waltz so that he could play the commanding officer in the biennial production of the Prairie Nutcracker. Lovella played the officer's wife. It became their special time together during rehearsals and the performances. For several years, his officer's boots were too small. Other men in the cast would have to pull them on and then after the performance it took two or three strong men to pull them off.

"Ron was one of the most virtuous men I have ever met," said Betsie Andrews said. "I will miss his warm, encouraging-to-all smile."

Kelley would forever be the Prairie Nutcracker's commanding officer emeritus, Andrews said.

To find the exact words to describe her husband was difficult for Lovella.

"He taught me that faith and hope are who we are," she said.

Their strength came from reading the Liturgy of the Hours together. They would pray together three times a day, and were able to continue almost to the end. Many friends came and prayed with them.

It all was so sudden. A month ago, he was reading at Sunday Mass, and then two days later he lost his balance and was unable to remember things.

Through it, he remained a man of "silent, steady, courage," said his sister-in-law Lou Irwin.

A grieving daughter asked how her father could be stricken with this disease that only effects one in a million. A grandchild answered, "Because he was one in a million."

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Mölyapina · #2 09-09-2013, 11:04 AM

Very touching. Your[EDIT: I meant to write OUR] community could use some like him. Our prayers are with you, his wife, & the rest of the family.

SwampYankee · #3 09-09-2013, 11:16 AM

What a great tribute and what a legacy your uncle created, Jim! RIP, Mr. Kelley.

sunedog · #4 09-09-2013, 11:20 AM

I am sorry.

jplinville · #5 09-09-2013, 12:00 PM

Sorry for yours, and your community's loss.

Jim B. · #6 09-09-2013, 12:07 PM

My sincerest condolences, Jim.

kerry · #7 09-09-2013, 12:33 PM

My condolences.

Air&Road · #8 09-09-2013, 02:05 PM

My warmest regards.

They say that the good die young. A man like that is indeed young when in his seventies.

elchivito · #9 09-09-2013, 07:15 PM

Condolences and best wishes to you and his wife. Devastating for those left behind but blessedly brief for him.

suginami · #10 09-10-2013, 10:40 AM

That was a very touching and inspiring tribute to a life well-lived.

dynalow · #11 09-10-2013, 10:57 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jooseppi Luna

Very touching. Your community could use some like him. Our prayers are with you, his wife, & the rest of the family.

I agree, but every community could use more like him.

He lived well. He served well. A giver, not a taker.
May he rest in peace, Jim.

Stoney · #12 09-10-2013, 02:51 PM

My prayers are with you and your family at this time. I lost a good friend to this disease 2 years ago and was amazed at how fast it progressed after diagnosis. From the article, I can see that he was the kind of person that I would have liked to have known and that we will miss in this world.

mgburg · #13 09-10-2013, 03:36 PM

My thoughts will be of you and yours this day.

Take care and remember, he loved life and those around him.

ramonajim · #14 09-10-2013, 04:52 PM

My heartfelt thanks to y'all, once again here to be my safe place to vent/blubber/whine/pontificate. For a bunch of loosely connected miscreants (most of whom I've never met in real life), there is a core of humanity represented here that is of great value.

In humble appreciation, I offer a slice of my sound track for a day when I'm sad for the holidays the first few iterations of my 'family' had no clue how to appreciate.

Quote:

Now granny she's yelling
She's ready to eat
She's havin' conniptions
'Cause they won't take their seats
But she's got 'em all gathered now under one roof
With her camcorder loaded
She's gonna get proof
But do you have to wear that
Well I just don't see why
Please pass the potatoes
Aw eat **** and die
Did you hear about Ellen, she's leaving, you know
How 'bout those Packers, think it'll snow?
And the minute it's over they'll scatter like quail
Off down the freeway in the teeth of a gale
Silent and shattered And numb to the core
They count themselves lucky
They got through one more holiday

McMurtry, his guitar, and a bottle of beer. As it should be.