George Leonard Kelley, 89, of Vero Beach, passed away peacefully at VNA Hospice House on Jan. 7, 2016, after a brief battle with lung cancer.
He is survived by his wife of 61 years, Gloria Marie (Manganiello) Kelley; his only son Kenneth T. Kelley (June); and grandchildren Christopher and Rachael Kelley, all of Jacksonville.
Kelley was born on Sept. 2, 1926, in Philadelphia, Penn., to George Kelley and Blanche Winn.
He joined the U.S. Navy in 1944, serving as a radioman for his entire career. As part of the Atlantic Fleet, he saw many Atlantic and Mediterranean ports. He served on seven different ships – USS Adirondack, Bronson, Cambria, Chilton, Donner, Hunt and Shenandoah. Duty stations included Norfolk, Mayport, Argentia, Newfoundland, and Annapolis.
Kelley retired after 20 years active service as a Chief Petty Officer Senior. He fully retired from reserves on Jan. 1, 1976. Upon his retirement from US Naval Radio Station Annapolis, he moved to Baltimore, Md., and began a second career with AT&T.
For 21 years he served at AT&T, starting as a lineman and working his way to designer of fiber optic systems. In 1987 he fully retired and moved to Vero Beach. As an avid golfer he was able to spend much more time on the links than anywhere else.
For many years he was a participant in ham radio, contacting people from all over the world. In 1981 he was certified a DX Century Club member for contacting other amateur stations in at least 100 different countries. Tonight K4ARS has fallen silent. We miss you, thanks for the lessons, and we will remember you always.
Viewing and visitation will be from 6 to 8 p.m., on Tuesday, Jan. 12 at Cox Gifford Seawinds Funeral Home in Vero Beach. An online guestbook may be signed at www.coxgiffordseawinds.com.
