The extraordinary life of Stan Kelly Jr. began November 3, 1949 at St. Joseph’s Hospital in Aberdeen, Washington as the first born to Stan Kelly Sr. (1920-1988) and Nelda Blanche (Crites) Kelly (1931-2008) and ended upon his transition at home in Prosser, Washington on August 17, 2019.
Those left behind with our incredible memories, everlasting love and gratitude include the love of his life and wife of 39 years, Kathy Kelly of the family home; son, Sean Kelly, his wife Tera, and grandson, Luca of Roseville, CA; step-son, Dave Gill and his wife, Amelia and their children, Chandler, Jessiela and Tyler Gill and Aarik Bright of Sunnyside; brothers, Paul Kelly of Olympia, WA and John Looysen and his wife, Trish and their children, Elizabeth, Coltrane and Anastasia of Olympia, WA; along with a host of other relatives and friends.
Stan attended Washington Elementary School, Miller Junior High and Aberdeen and Hoquiam High Schools before enlisting in the US Army to proudly serve his country from 1967 to 1970 mostly in Vietnam. He then attended Grays Harbor College upon his discharge.
He made his living and supported his family in an almost incalculable number of ways that included (and this is not a complete list!) landscaping, gem and coin brokering, logging, wine-making (cellar-master), retail, as a musician, mill work, cooking and restaurant management and farming, and he was excellent at each and was driven by curiosity to know as much as he could about everything he ever did. Stan was a proud, loving and sarcastic man who always represented himself honorably, lived life on his own terms, made his own way, and gladly gave greatly of himself while asking little in return throughout the course of his amazing lifetime. He will live in the hearts and minds of all he touched forever.
An Irish Wake will be held on Saturday, August 31st at the Prosser Eagles from 4:00-11:00 p.m. Full Military Honors will be conducted at 5:00 p.m. An account has been set up at Yakima Federal for donations to the family of Stan Kelly.