William James Kelley

Mr. William James Kelley, of Pacific Beach, died peacefully at home, surrounded by his children, on the morning of May 30, 2014. He was 93 years old. His beloved wife, Virginia Frances (Cellitti) Kelley, had passed away 31 years earlier.

Mr. Kelley was born on May 14, 1921 in Leetonia, Pennsylvania, a small lumber town in the northern Pennsylvania mountains that has since mostly reverted to forest. He was the son of Frank J. Kelley and Bertha Martha (Schwab) Kelley. He grew up in Northumberland, Pennsylvania, where he lived for the first half of his life and where he met and married Virginia in 1947.

Graduating from Northumberland High School in the midst of the Depression in 1938, Mr. Kelley nonetheless never went without work. His range of jobs over the course of his long life included bookkeeper, brakeman on the Pennsylvania Railroad, clerk in the Pennsylvania Legislature, screen printer, carpenter and lumber mill owner. For the last 30+ years of his career, he worked as a financial executive for the pharmaceutical firm Merck & Co., Inc., from which he retired in 1984.

Mr. Kelley served his community in a variety of posts and positions, including President of the Shikellamy School Board in Central Pennsylvania. He was a past master of the Masons, Eureka Lodge No. 404. He served his church in many capacities. Mr. Kelley was a long-time member of the United Methodist Church and its predecessor, the Evangelical United Brethren Church. He attended Pacific Beach United Methodist Church and La Jolla United Methodist Church.

Mr. Kelley’s life spanned over one-third of the life of his country of which he was so proud. At age 20, on the day after Pearl Harbor, Mr. Kelley went to the recruiting office of every branch of the armed services to enlist, only to be rejected by each because of some missing teeth. Not one ever to be deterred, he traveled to Philadelphia and finagled his way into the Marine Corps. Through the V12 officer training program, Mr. Kelley attended the University of Redlands until he was assigned to a regiment that was preparing for the invasion of Iwo Jima. Mr. Kelley, as a corporal and radio operator, led his squadron through the waves onto the beach in one of the first groups to land on the island. While relaying communications between shore and ship, he was wounded, first by mortar fire, and then, while being borne on a stretcher, shot through the neck. For these wounds received as a result of enemy action, he was awarded the Purple Heart Medal. After being transported to a ship and undergoing surgery, the ship was attacked by kamikazes. A gritty survivor, Mr. Kelley recovered from his wounds and was preparing to take part in the invasion of Japan when the war ended. In 1994, Mr. Kelley returned to Iwo Jima for the 50th anniversary memorial of the battle.

Until recently, Mr. Kelley led a very active life in retirement. He loved backpacking in the Sierra Nevada, climbed Mt. Whitney, hiked the Grand Canyon, drove across country solo, bicycled, and well into his 80’s played tennis and baseball and continued to walk miles every day along the beach and bay of Pacific Beach. He was a voracious reader and frequently could be found at the Pacific Beach Library. Listening to Big Band, popular and classical music and playing his baby grand piano gave him much pleasure.

Mr. Kelley is survived by a daughter, Susan M. Kelley, two sons, William J. Kelley, III, married to Pamela Kelley, and Brian D. Kelley, along with two grandsons, Devin and Gavin Sanders, and a great granddaughter, Jayden Sanders. Mrs. Laura Bollinger, his sister, preceded him in death. The family is arranging for donations in Mr. Kelley’s memory.

A military service, including full military honors performed by the U.S. Marine Corps, was held for Mr. Kelley at the Miramar National Cemetery in San Diego, California.