Donald Don J. Kelly Sr.

Age 56, of Palm Beach Gardens passed away on February 9, 2010 after a brief but heroic battle with cancer. Born in Victory Mills, New York he moved to South Florida in1967. Don was a skilled "old school" mechanic but will be remembered as a friend to everyone who crossed his path.

He is survived by his wife, Beverly(Kiselewski), his son Donald J. Kelly, Jr.(Deborah Jones, fiance), his daughter Melody (Bradley) Woods, and three grandchildren, Donald J. Kelly, III, Charles Woods and Alexis Woods.

The family will receive friends on Friday, February 12 from 6-8 P.M. at the Howard-Price Funeral Home. Funeral services will be held on Saturday at 11 A.M. at the Funeral Home.

Donald Jay Kelly, Sr. Eulogy delivered by Bradley Woods (Don’s son-in-law)

Don was born at home in Victory Mills, New York. He was the youngest of five children born to John and Daisy Kelly. Don was raised on a farm by his grandmother Lena. He loved to tell us stories of his youth...about running and hiding from his grandmother in the chicken coop, as she was a large woman and couldn't get to him inside the coop...Or one of the many stories of how he "borrowed" his sister Mary's car when he was all of 10 or 11 and how she could never figure out why she never had any gas. He would snicker and laugh when he told the story of how he got stopped one night while out on a joy ride with a couple of his buddies and the police took him before the Judge. The officer said "well son, what do you have to say for yourself?" Don looked up and said "hey Uncle Bob how have you been?". The officer just shook his head and said that he could have given him the heads up and Don said "you didn't ask!" In his early teens, Don moved to Florida with his mother and stepfather Tommy, where they lived in Lake Park for many years. It was while he was a teenager that he met and married Carol. Together they had three children....John Eugene who was still born, Donald Jr. and Melody Ann. They were married for 14 years before the young temptress Beverly came into his life. They met and had there first date 25 years ago this month. There was a great love affair. They enjoyed spending their time with family, friend and traveling. They always enjoyed making the rest of us feel uncomfortable talking about "old people" sex. Most of all they loved to talk and laugh.

Don was very knowledgeable and forever the story teller, but today as we celebrate his life. I have a few stories of my own to share.......

No matter how serious a situation would get Don was always able to lighten the mood, be it with a story, joke, his laugh or his crooked smile. When the mood was heaviest, he would resort to using flatulence.

There was once a time, when he was playing in a pool tournament...he was up against a very skilled female player. The billiard hall was really quiet as everyone was vying for the prize money when Don walked over to a nearby empty table....leaned upon it and thought he could squeak one out--when a loud noise rippled across the table and filled the hall. Soon after, nothing but laughter filled the room.

Another one of the family's most memorable moments was from a camping trip the three Dons (Don, Donald and little "D") took to Manatee Hammock, a campground just outside Kennedy Space Center. Don was fascinated with the stars and moon and loved the space program and was happy to be able to share it with his boys, but the entire trip was to be a comedy of errors. First was the air mattress. Papa's air mattress was like 3 feet long. From his knees to his feet were hanging off the end of the bed. It was thought to be the size of a twin size mattress but it was the size of a pool float...a dingy for a dingy. He looked like a giant in a midget’s bed. In the morning Don could barely walk...the bed had won the fight so off to Wal-mart they went.

The next evening after being all snug in his new bed for several hours...sometime around 2am--loud cries could be heard outside the tent. Something was in pain and this night it wasn't Papa. All the boys were now awake and peered outside the tent to see what appeared to be a big tom cat, the size of a small bear, with a crazy eye howling at the moon.

It was a beautiful place but smelled like a dumpster. The boys constantly blamed each other for the smell, as the apple doesn’t fall far from the tree.....what it really was a bad smell from the intracoastal. The boys lovingly renamed it "Dumpster Hammock......"

Most of all the boys bonded. Laughing and telling jokes by the campfire, BBQing everyday and fishing just to fish. What a great life experiences and memories for a father, his son and his son.

One of Don's pet names for a while was Coco the house boy. Friday night was poker night...Texas hold'em.....we would play cards at a different house every Friday night....Bev asked Don if the dishes were washed and the if the trash had been taken out (it was very humorous) it was then that we "his buds gave him the nick name Coco. I still look back on one of my first nights of card's and wonder why 3 pairs don't beat three of a kind.

Anyone could talk to Don about anything. He would listen to what you had to say, and then he would offer a bit of advice.

Loosing Don is a heartfelt loss for all that knew him.

Keeper of the Stars that is what Don was to his Grandkids, When Charlie was about 2 years old. We were all outside and Charlie was oohing and awing at the stars and Don said yep I turn those on, Charlie not ever doubting his Papa just took his word for it. As Charlie got older he started questioning Papa about how he turns them on. So Don told him he had an invisible spaceship in the back yard that he would take into space and flip the switch and change the bulbs. And on nights when the clouds were thick, he would tell Charlie to tell his mean old Daddy to turn the clouds off. Papa told Charlie I was the keeper of the clouds.

We can never replace Don's stories or his Knowledge- especially about cars…

Like Beverly says God's domestic car must have broken down and he needed Don to come home- must have been a tricky alternator or something.

I remember always feeling comfortable around him, I could tell him anything, like a brother I never had. For the first time their was a consistent figure in my life which I could turn to for friendship and support.

I understand now that if you don't have family, you really don't have anything…

Don, I love you, I miss you. Your family is in good hands. You have graced my life with more than you'll ever know. God Bless.