Thaddeus Elliott Kelly

Thaddeus Elliott Kelly

Thaddeus Elliott Kelly, M.D., Ph.D., Professor Emeritus, University of Virginia School of Medicine, died on Thursday, July 2, 2009.

He is survived by his wife of 49 years, Carolyn Turner Kelly; his children, Caroline Mayes Kelly, Thomas Thaddeus Elliott Kelly, Mary Sidney Kelly Harbert; their spouses; three granddaughters; and his brother, Sidney L. Kelly and his wife.

He was born in New York City on October 7, 1937, son of Sidney L. and Essie Elliott Kelly. He grew up in Conway, South Carolina.

He received a B.S. from Davidson College, an M.D. from the Medical University of South Carolina, and a Ph.D. in Medical Genetics from The Johns Hopkins University. He served seven years of active duty in the United States Navy at naval hospitals in Chinhae, Korea; Bethesda, Maryland, where he completed a residency in Pediatrics; and Naples, Italy. He retired with the rank of Captain in 1990.

Thad joined the faculty of the University of Virginia as Associate Professor of Pediatrics and established the Division of Medical Genetics in 1975. He was promoted to Professor in 1980, and was named Professor Emeritus in 2002. Thad made numerous contributions to the fields of Pediatrics and Medical Genetics. His clinical and research interests included lysosomal storage disease, enzyme replacement therapy, neurogenetic disorders, short stature and skeletal dysplasias, the use of growth hormone to treat genetic disorders, the X chromosome and X-linked disorders, syndrome delineation and characterization, teratology, and Prader-Willi syndrome.

Thad was a Founding Fellow of the American College of Medical Genetics, President of the American Board of Medical Genetics and the Mid-Atlantic Human Genetics Network, and served on the Board of Directors of the Little People of America, the Osteogenesis Imperfecta Foundation, the MPS Society, the Virginia Prevention Council, and the Genentech Foundation for Growth and Development. He served on the editorial board of the American Journal of Medical Genetics, the Journal of Medical Genetics, and Clinical Dysmorphology and Birth Defects. He authored more than 230 articles, abstracts, and book chapters, as well as two medical genetics texts.

Thad helped design and implement the statewide Virginia Genetics Plan, bringing medical genetics to families and communities throughout central and western Virginia through clinics, home visits, and continuing medical education lectures. Thad initiated the Enzyme Replacement Program at the University of Virginia, the first such program in Virginia to treat patients with certain lysosomal storage diseases. Through his work, Thad touched the lives of thousands of patients and families and was much loved by his colleagues.

Thad was an elder and active member of Westminster Presbyterian Church, particularly in its mission work. He led numerous medical mission and relief trips, individually and with church members and University of Virginia students, to Kenya, Honduras and the New Orleans area.

Thad loved to travel and was an avid birder, sports enthusiast, and bridge player.

A memorial service will be held 11:30 a.m. Tuesday, July 7, 2009, at Westminster Presbyterian Church. A private interment will precede the service.

Contributions in memory of Thad may be made to Westminster Presbyterian Church, P.O. Box 3365, Charlottesville, VA 22903.


This obituary was originally published in the Daily Progress.