Obituary of Richard J. Kelly

With profound sadness The Kelly Family announces that their cherished patriarch Richard Joseph (Rick) Kelly, 86, of Yardley, Pennsylvania, passed away on April 4, 2019, in his Yardley, PA home of 49 years, after bravely managing several chronic conditions over the past six years. Rick is survived by his beloved wife of 60 years, Barbara Hill Kelly, his son Richard J. Kelly, Jr., both of Yardley, his daughter Lois Babatz and son-in-law David Babatz of Anderson, SC, his brother William Davis Kelly of Anderson, SC, his granddaughter Jessica Kelly, his three grandsons, Timothy Babatz, Gary Babatz, and Jonathan Babatz, and three nieces. He was predeceased by his parents, William Joseph Kelly of Augusta, GA, and Louise Burriss Kelly, of Augusta, GA, and Anderson, SC, and by his brother, Sherrill Kelly, MD, of Naples, FL. Mr. Kelly was born in Anderson, SC, and grew up in Augusta, GA. He graduated from Academy of Richmond County in Augusta as valedictorian, as did his two brothers. Rick earned his degree in Chemical Engineering from Cornell University in 1954. He served two years as a lieutenant in the U. S. Army Ordnance Corps, mostly in the Bordeaux region of France. Rick joined the Mobil Oil Corporation in 1956 in Paulsboro, NJ, and worked for Mobil in Research and Engineering for thirty-seven years in Paulsboro and Hopewell, NJ, until retiring in 1993. After joining Mobil, he earned an MS in Mathematics at the University of Delaware. Rick enjoyed being with his family, dining out, astronomy, classical music, opera, the Philadelphia Orchestra, and golf for many years. He possessed an extraordinary intellect, a keen sense of humor, was loving, moral, wise, gentle, kind, patient, generous, and an all-around outstanding man. Rick was an avid reader and a skilled investor. He had a lifelong love of spending time with his family in the scenic mountains of Highlands, NC , and he traveled extensively throughout the United States and the world. Rick was a member of the Episcopal Church of the Incarnation in Morrisville, PA for 49 years. He served on the Vestry, and was Treasurer for 12 years. Rick's Celebration of Life Service will be held at the Church of the Incarnation, 1505 Makefield Road, Morrisville, PA 19067, on Monday, April 22nd at 11:00 a.m., with visitation beginning at 10:00 a.m. Rick Kelly's Interment Ceremony will be held at the New Silver Brook Cemetery in Anderson, SC in June.