Patrick W. Kelley

Patrick W. Kelley died in Montclair, Virginia, on April 21, 2025, at the age of 76. Patrick is survived by his beloved wife, Lizanne (Dinoto) Kelley; two daughters, Tara (Arthur) Pedersen and Lara (Erik) Swanson; seven grandchildren, Shana (Sean) Hallissey, Connor (Maddie Gilliam) Pedersen, Grace Swanson, Lydia Pedersen, Luke Pedersen, John Pedersen and Susannah Pedersen; two great-grandchildren (Killian and Adeline Hallissey); three brothers, Michael (Susan) Kelley, Timothy (Linda Morgan) Kelley, and Kevin Kelley; cousins and nieces and nephews.

Patrick was born in 1948 to Brady and Maxine Kelley, the second of four sons, in Corbin, Kentucky. Brady was a career soldier in the U.S. Army so Patrick and the rest of his family moved many times during his formative years, living in Kentucky, Indiana, Germany, Washington DC, and Hawaii before moving to Michigan, where he attended and graduated Southgate High School.Patrick continued his schooling at Michigan State University, graduating in 1970 with a BS degree. His father, Brady, accepted his last set of orders and moved to Illinois with Maxine and Patrick’s younger brothers but Patrick, now married to his first wife, Linda, moved to Durham, North Carolina to attend Duke University Law School. After graduating in 1973 with a JD degree, Patrick went on active duty as a judge advocate with the U.S. Navy, in which he would serve for the next 21 years, stationed at Naval bases in California, Japan, Rhode Island, Connecticut, and Pennsylvania.

Patrick’s two wonderful daughters were born along the way and adapted to their father’s peripatetic lifestyle without complaint. After a decade of service, the Navy sent Patrick to the University of Pennsylvania to earn an LLM degree. Later, Patrick decided to take advantage of his veteran’s benefits and attended night school to earn an MBA degree from George Washington University in Washington, DC, while stationed at the Navy’s Office of the Judge Advocate General. Patrick’s final duty station was the Pentagon, from which he retired with the rank of Captain in 1994.

Patrick took a week’s vacation and then reported to the Federal Bureau of Investigation at the J. Edgar Hoover Headquarters Building in Washington, DC, where he started his second career as an attorney in the newly formed Office of the General Counsel. During his 24-year tenure with the FBI, Patrick worked under Directors Freeh, Mueller, Comey, and Wray, serving as a line attorney, Unit Chief, Deputy General Counsel, and Acting General Counsel. He retired as an Assistant Director in 2018. Some of the highlights for Patrick at the FBI included drafting and helping get enacted into law the nation’s first Federal trade-secret protection act, “The Economic Espionage Act,” and a statute designed to fight the trade in fraudulent aircraft parts, “The Aircraft Safety Act.” Patrick also established and ran the first Federal compliance program.

Besides keeping up with much-loved family and friends, Patrick, during his retirement years, liked to travel, read, exercise, write, and walk with Lizanne, particularly on the beach or boardwalk in southern New Jersey close to the condominium that they purchased to fulfill Lizanne’s lifelong dream of returning to the Jersey Shore. Patrick tried to be kind and considerate to everyone with whom he came into contact. He was a beloved son, husband, father, grandfather and brother. Although he lives still in our hearts, he is greatly missed.

There will be a funeral Mass at the Cathedral of St. Matthew the Apostle, 1725 Rhode Island Ave., N.W., Washington, D.C., at 10:00 a.m. on April 29, 2025. A reception will immediately follow at the Army & Navy Club, 901 17th St., N.W., Washington, D.C. Burial arrangements are private.