1 week Ago
June 11, 1945 — September 22, 2024 SAN ANTONIO — We thank God for the gift of you, Jeffrey Kelly, and are grateful for the sanctuary of joy and peace we shared, guided by God’s grace. Jeffrey Ward Kelly was born June 11, 1945, in Springfield, Missouri, to loving parents Howard Vincent Kelly and Florence Isabel Fulton. His parents preceded him in death, as well as his first wife, Nancy Stevens Kelly.
Jeff grew up in Grand Island, Nebraska, where his father and grandfather had started Kelly Supply Company. Nobody had more fun than Jeff, growing up in an idyllic small town with wonderful friends and family. His siblings describe him as always having been an entrepreneur, whether it was managing the largest newspaper route in Grand Island or making hundreds of hula hoops to sell for a dollar each.
Jeff was extremely hardworking and a visionary. He never met a stranger and brought so much joy and laughter to everyone. While in high school he was a great baseball catcher helping his team, the Islander Midgets, win the 1961 Legion Midget State Championship, with a record of 24 wins and only one loss.
Jeff continued for two more years to play in the Senior Legion State championships. After graduating from Grand Island Senior High School in 1963, Jeff attended Baker University where he was a member of Delta Tau Delta fraternity. Jeff and Nancy married on April 25, 1968, and later had two sons.
Jeff graduated from Baker University in 1968 with a degree in Business Journalism. He began his professional career, first at the Greater Kansas City Metropolitan Planning Commission. He completed six years in the Army National Reserves.
Jeff also worked for Dictaphone before eventually returning to Grand Island in the early 1970s to begin his career at Kelly Supply Company, helping manage the family wholesale industrial distribution business with locations in Nebraska, Iowa, and Colorado. Jeff was instrumental in establishing the first internet company in Nebraska called KDSI, which continues today as an arm of the Kelly Supply Company, giving it an inroad to distribution throughout the United States and foreign countries.= Jeff served on boards of directors on local, state and national levels to include Norwest Bank (now Wells Fargo), Wells Fargo, St.
Francis Hospital in Grand Island, The Sisters of Charity in Cincinnati, Ohio, the Advisory Board of Gates Rubber Company, Gates Industrial Corporation, and The Foundation of Grand Island. He retired from Kelly Supply in 2008 and moved to Texas in 2009. Jeff moved to San Antonio, Texas, in 2016, and married Priscilla “Cissi” Berger Glendening on July 31, 2016.
Jeff and Cissi had attended Baker University and later reconnected after both lost their spouses. Cissi and Jeff enjoyed wonderful travel opportunities throughout the world but treasured most their time with family. Jeff, also known as “GPa”, was loved by Cissi’s children and nine grandchildren.
He is survived by his sisters, Patricia Kelly Albrecht of Fredericksburg, Texas, and Sheila Kelly Kepler and husband, Steve, of Lincoln, Nebraska; and a brother, KC Kelly and wife, Kim, of La Vista, Nebraska; along with many nieces and nephews. Additionally, Jeff is survived by a son, Luke and wife, Amy; grandsons, Sam and Ryan of Omaha, Nebraska; and son, John and wife, Audra; granddaughters, McKynna, Kwynn, Corynn, and Evelynn of Colorado and Nebraska. We give thanks upon every remembrance of you.
Philippians 1:3 Services were Monday, October 7, 2024, at St. Nicholas Episcopal Church in Bulverde, Texas. The Rev.
Beth Wyndham officiated. Honorary pallbearers included KC Kelly, Steve Kepler, Craig Wanamaker, Michael Kelly, James Kahrhoff, James Daubert, Robert Sutter, James Sartin and John Greenberger; and Jeff’s seven step-grandsons. Memorial donations in Jeff’s name can be made to: Tunnel to Towers Foundation at T2T.
org or mailed to 2361 Hylan Blvd., Staten Island, NY 10306; or to St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital at stjude.
org or mailed to 501 St. Jude Place, Memphis, TN 38105. Sign up to get the most recent local obituaries delivered to your inbox.
.
