The Kelly Papers.
After 41 years of devoted labor at Saint
Francis Vocational school, Jim Kelly. for some of those years known
as Brother Gerard Owen, FSC, has retired.
The doctors all say they can't find a damn thing wrong
with him that a blessing and a pint won't cure. So he's off: to see
the Pope, with Jim Ferry. After they get the blessing they will be
searching for the pint - their 5th annual wintertime holiday
to
visit
friends
and relatives in Ireland.
Seamus O'Ceallaigh
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A look at your handsome man, after
50 years of ripening. |
Kelly the Yank
Kelly
is a Yankee, much to the surprise of those who think he is a native Irishman.
He
was born
in Philadelphia. In 1939, when he was less than ten years old, his aunt
took him
on a vacation
to Ireland. Just then, after they arrived all passenger shipping in the
North Atlantic was stopped because of German attacks.. It would
be six years before
young Kelly would see his mom and dad, his sister and brother or his native
home.
Marooned
in Ireland by WWII, he learned to be a farmer, a deep-sea fisherman and
a listener to the tales told by the auld. (Go
to Kelly in Ireland page)
Back Home a Teenager
When he returned
to the US he excelled in whatever interested him: running through the
fields of
Cloghaneeley
prepared him to
be a cross-country
champion in Philadelphia secondary schools. He competed at
the Penn Relays and ran sub-five-minute mile as a schoolboy.He was photographer
for the high school newspaper and ever since has had a camera
or two
slung around his neck.
The Christian
Brothers
After graduation
from West Philadelphia Catholic High School for Boys, he entered
the
Christian Brothers, to do
such
work over the next
25 years as teacher, a firefighter, a caretaker of senior
citizens--the old Brothers, a mentor and guide for young orphaned and
troubled
adults.He
is a serious card player and member of a floating poker game
for 30 years - Christian Brothers, exFSC and other high rollers (after
30 years, Kelly is up by $2.49).Your man is
a holder of bachelor's and master's degrees from LaSalle.
The Boys far from
Home
He should be known
as Jimmy the Ear, because he has been told more secrets by
more people
than
anyone in
history, and he never breaks his trust. He spent thirty
years as the dependent child care supervisor at St.Francis
and witnessed the change in the social work
spectrum from orphaned boys needing a home and an education/ trade,
to young
drug addicts
remanded by the courts to his care. Some of his later
charges were more interested in self-destruction and the situation required
that he
acquire a new
set of skills at an age when most of his
contemporaries
had retired.
The Ladies' Man
He's always loved
beautiful women, even as they reached an age when othermen might not
think of them as beautiful.Something
etches their youthful sweetness in his mind and everything grows older
but his etchings remain unchanged.
A
Kennedy Man
He has a geat
collection of Kennedy memorabilia, and treasures the memory of his
position as honorary pallbearer for Robert Kennedy as well as the NY
Daily News photo of himself and Ethel together in St. Pat's Cathedral.
KELLY ABROAD AND ASTRAY
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Himself being refused entrance at purgatory- they had an alternative
spot for him - a warmer offer with a longer lease! Loch Derg, County
Donegal.
On the right, he is walking along Loch Augher, scaring the
sheep there below him. Augher is a lake at the foot of Muckish
Mountain about four miles south of Falcarragh, where Jim lived during
during
World War II. Ireland is not always green.
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The Kelly at his 70 birthday surprise party. Surprised?
That he made it that far? With Erin, Mary and Eileen. |
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Jim Kelly toasting you from Clerys Pub in Dublin with Jim Ferry,
a cold night in February 2003.
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