Gerald M. "Jerry" Kelley

Taylor resident was co-owner of local tavern with wife, Betty.

Mr. Kelley died Tuesday, May 31, 2016 after a brief period of declining health.  He was 89.  He was born on February 24, 1927, to Wm Damer and Maude (Queen) Kelley in Fallsburg, KY, and was raised on a farm in that vicinity and nearby Louisa.  He enlisted in the US Army Air Force during WWII, serving in Italy.  He received Battle Stars for Anzio Beach and Po Valley, and the WWII Victory Medal.

After the war, he married Betty (Carey) Kelley, also of Louisa, in 1950, and the couple moved to Michigan in 1951.

They initially settled in Wyandotte, but moved to Taylor in 1954, where they raised three children.  Mr. Kelley spent more than 20 years in the steel industry, but always longed to run his own business.  During the post-war building boom of the fifties, he and his brother, Gene, owned and operated a pair of dump trucks, then beginning in the seventies; in 1974 he founded a lumber business in Southgate, servicing the steel industry.  In 1987, he sold that business, and with his wife, owned and operated the local Taylor tavern, Kelley's Kabin for many years on Telegraph Rd.  Mr. Kelley was predeceased by his wife, Betty, and one son, Andrew.  He is survived by two sons and their spouses, David and Kathy Kelley of New Hampshire, and Patrick and Ellen Kelley of Taylor, seven grandchildren,  Michael Kelley, Brandy Kelley, and Dawn Cavill, Jeff Kelley, Kristen Gleason, Laramie Kelley and Madison Kelley, and 13 great-grandchildren and 1 great, great grandchild.  Also survived by many nieces and nephews, and his remaining in-laws, Ina (Carey) and Jack Hendrix, and Phyllis (May) Carey.

Funeral Service Saturday, June 4, 2016, 7:00pm at the Taylor Chapel of the Howe-Peterson Funeral Home with Visitation beginning at 12:30pm until time of service.

Memorials suggested to:
Penrickton Center for Blind Children
26530 Eureka Road
Taylor, MI 48180
http://penrickton.com/donate/