March 14, 2022
REST IN PEACE
Ed Kelly passed away on March 14, 2022. He was born in Detroit, Michigan on August 12, 1927. Upon graduation from High School, he entered the army at age 18. He spent ten years in the army. In Korea he stormed the beach at the Inchon Landing in 1950 and was one of the few survivors of the battle at the Chosin Reservoir where he earned two purple hearts. Ultimately after years in the reserves, he retired as a lieutenant colonel.
He attended seminary in Houston, TX and Louvain, Belgium and entered the priesthood. He served as a priest in Oklahoma addressing poverty and education and promoting the political power of impoverished folks. He entered government work in 1970 with the Department of Health and Human Services and helped to create the first national drunk driving awareness campaign and was instrumental in the movement to change the national drinking age to 21. Upon retiring from the government in 1983, he began work as a lobbyist for the National Assoc. of Private Psychiatric Hospitals. In his retirement he was active at St. Camillus Roman Catholic Church and Habitat for Humanity, going on builds to the Dominican Republic, Guatemala, and planting olive trees in Palestine into his 80s.
He married Catherine Scott in 1968 and had four children. He is survived by his wife, Connie, and his children: Ken Kelly, Bart Kelly, Eileen Kelly, and Anna Kelly, his children-in-law Sanjay Pahuja and Johanna Hammer and six grandchildren. The family would like to thank the wonderful, caring staff at Kensington Park Senior Living for taking such good care of Ed. Services for Ed Kelly will be held at St. Camillus Catholic Church in Silver Spring, MD at 12 noon on April 2. A wake will be held on April 1st beginning at 6:00 p.m. location to be determined. Please email