Predeceased by his mother Divona (née Bollinger) and his father Joseph de Grood, he is survived by his wife Anne Marie, daughters Jill (Christian Loehr), Anna (Kyler Siemens) and Chloe (Carson George) and his grandson, Emmett.
A longtime pilot with more than 14,000 flying hours, Kelly especially loved Canada’s north. While he entertained with stories of chasing bears away from seismic crews with his helicopter and buzzing his uncle’s family farm in Red Deer, he was amazingly adept and cool under pressure — the best kind of pilot.
He was a licensed aircraft mechanic with many interests — He skillfully rebuilt small aircraft and tinkered with boats, motorcycles, cars, and ATVs over the years.
Kelly loved cycling, camping, and anything outdoors. He spent many happy hours in the back country aboard Duke. He was an avid animal lover and “surprised” his family with many pets over the years including dogs, birds, rabbits, and even a snake.
He persevered through many challenging situations. His family often said he was like a cat with 100 lives. Despite the last few years not going as Kelly would have liked, he never missed a moment to make someone laugh.
He loved to laugh, he loved his family — he is greatly missed.
Thanks to the kindness and care of Marites and the rest of the 3rd floor staff at Carewest Garrison Green.
A Celebration of Kelly’s life will be held Friday, September 19 from 1:00 p.m. to 3:30 p.m. at Glennfield Blackbird (East) - Fish Creek Provincial Park.
In lieu of flowers, contributions in Kelly's memory may be made to PALS (Pet Access League Society), 3019 21st Street NE, Calgary, Alberta T2E 7T1 CA, www.palspets.com; and CORD (Canadian Organization for Rare Disorders), 51 Bloor Street West, Suite 600, Toronto, Ontario M5S 1S4 CA, www.raredisorders.ca.
