Richard Kelley

Richard G Kelley of Orlando Florida previously from Boston Massachusetts passed away on 11/29/2020 after a short battle with cancer. He was the beloved husband of Julianna Lee and the loving father of Richard B Kelley. He was the son of the late Paul and Christina Kelley of Brighton MA and the brother of Christine and Peter Principe of Scituate MA, Paul and Kathy Kelley of Dedham MA, Judith and Louis Panagotopulos of Walpole Ma, Mary Sue and Mike Faherty of Milton MA and Brian Kelley of RI He was the brother in law of Steve and Allison Lee of Madison AL and Melvin and Robin Lee of Olive Branch MS. He was loved and grieved for by his multiple nieces and nephews.

Rick received his undergraduate degree was from the University of Massachusetts Lowell where he earned a Bachelor of Science Degree in Electrical Engineering. He went on to an MBA from the Florida Institute of Technology.

Rick joined Martin Marietta in 1977 and worked in electro-optical engineering, specializing in FLIR targeting systems and navigation systems. He worked on many toplevel programs and was the youngest employee ever to become program manager.

Rick left Martin Marietta in 1994, joining Coleman Aerospace (now part of Aerojet Rocketdyne) where he served as vice president and general manager.

In 2006, he rejoined Lockheed Martin as senior capture manager in the training and logistics business.

Rick was always the smartest person in the room and was well known as the person who never took notes in a meeting. He didn’t need to. Rick heard everything, processed everything, and always honed in on the most important issues. Because of his extensive experience spanning executive leadership, engineering management, capture management, and program management, he was assigned to the most high-value business pursuits.

He was a rabid Boston Red Sox and New England Patriots fan. His Boston accent stayed with him in spite of his 40-plus years in Florida.

Rick decided to retire from full-time employment in 2017 and accepted a few consulting assignments. Over the past three years, he relished spending more time with his wife, Dr. Julianna Lee, DMD, and his son, Ricky.

Rick loved his family and friends and his work. He simply loved life.

The family requests that memorial gifts be made in support of Merkel cell carcinoma research at UW Medicine. Checks should be made payable to “UW Foundation” and mailed to: UW Foundation, Box 359505 Seattle, WA 98195. Please indicate that the gift is in memory of Richard Kelley. Alternatively, you can make a donation-online:

https://depts.washington.edu/givemed/give/?page=make&source=dercar