Obituary of Henry W Kelly, III

Henry William Kelly 1925-2021 Henry William (Hank) Kelly died on January 22, 2021, peacefully at home. He was 95. Hank was born on October 23, 1925, in Brooklyn, NY, and moved with his family to Laconia, NH, as a young teen. Hank fondly recalled summers spent boating on Lake Winnipesaukee with companions who would go on to become lifelong friends. Hank attended Governor Dummer Academy in Byfield, MA, and spent one year at the University of Pennsylvania before WWII broke out. He enlisted in the Navy and became a corpsman serving on Guam in the Pacific theater, working the hospital wards and caring for severely-injured soldiers. This experience sparked an enduring interest in medicine and a soft touch, even when applying band aids on skinned knees. Hank returned from the war and completed his degree at the University of Pennsylvania, Wharton School of Business in 1949. While at UPenn, he served as the manager of the nationally ranked Varsity football team, and immensely enjoyed Saturday afternoons spent on Franklin Field. He also sung a capella – and continued singing at home until throat cancer took away his vocal range much later in his 60s. After graduation, he joined IBM, where he found not only a career that would span more than 30 years there, but his wife, Nancy Ferns. Family lore has it that Nancy, who was the office manager’s secretary, told her boss to hire the handsome Irishman. In the early years at IBM, Hank travelled for business, frequently away from Sunday to Thursday. He would always come home with a trinket for his daughters and a recommendation of where to find the best steak in the city he was visiting. His career at IBM was highlighted by his involvement in the transition to the modern record retention industry. He retired as a lifelong and “True-Blue” IBM employee. Duty and faith were at the core of Hank’s values. He had a firm sense of right and wrong which he instilled in his daughters. The consummate gentleman, he was always ready to offer a polite word and thank you to all. Upon retirement, Hank became active at St. James parish in Basking Ridge. He was a daily communicant, a driver for the church’s Transportation Group, a corps of drivers who would take parishioners to medical appointments, as well as a member of the Top of the Hill Gang. In his later years, Hank was a resilient man, surviving multiple heart attacks and cancer, who took joy in life’s simple pleasures: Ice cream; the Sunday New York Times; Jeopardy!; daily crossword puzzles; and spending time with his grandchildren. He was granted his wish of spending his final years at home through the loving care of his daughter, Susan. Hank is survived by his daughters Susan Kelly of Philadelphia, Pa; Mary Ellen Kelly and her husband Richard Iorio, MD of Beverly, Ma; and his three grandchildren Tighe McCormack of Jersey City, NJ, Elizabeth Iorio of Boston, Ma, and Alexander Iorio of Brooklyn, NY. Funeral Mass will be held on Wednesday, January 27, 2021 at St. James Chuch, 184 S. Finley Ave, Basking Ridge, NJ, 11:00am. Entombment will follow at Holy Cross Cemetery, Basking Ridge. For further information, or to leave an online condolence message please visit www. gcfuneralhome.com In lieu of flowers, contributions can be made to The Order of the Most Holy Trinity. The Trinitarians, PO Box 5719 Baltimore, MD 21282.