Samuel E. Kelly Ph.D.

Samuel E. KELLY, PH.D. Samuel Eugene Kelly, Sr. passed away on Monday, July 6, 2009, at his home in Trilogy, Redmond, Washington, due to congestive heart failure. Dr. Kelly was born on January 26, 1926, in Greenwich, CT, the youngest of five sons of James Handy Kelly and Essie Matilda Allen Kelly. He attended public schools until he enlisted in the US Army in 1944; he served his country for 22 years, including WW II and Korea, until he retired as a Lt. Colonel in 1966. Family, education, and opportunity were Dr. Kelly's lifelong passions. During his military career he received BS and BA degrees from West Virginia State College and an MA from Marshall University. Following his military career he joined the higher education system of the state of Washington at Everett Junior College; from there he moved to Shoreline Community College. In 1970 he was called upon by President Charles Odegaard to become the first Vice President for Minority Affairs at the University of Washington. He received his Ph.D. from the UW in 1971 and became a tenured member of the graduate faculty in the College of Education. In 1991, Dr. Kelly and his family relocated to Vancouver, Washington where they remained until December 2006, when they returned to the Seattle area. Dr. Kelly spent 15 years at Portland OIC/Rosemary Anderson School, providing alternative education and credit recovery for students from the Portland Public Schools; he also taught as an adjunct faculty member at Clark College in Vancouver for nine years. Dr. Kelly was preceded in death by his wife, Joyce Estella Lyle, his parents, and his four older brothers, Bill, John, Jim, and Bob. He will be lovingly remembered by his wife of 29 years, Donna Schaplow Kelly, his daughters, Brenda, Sharon, and Heather, his sons, Bill and Sam, Jr., his grandchildren, Madison Kelly North, and Cecelia Irene and Malcolm Xavier Blackthorn, as well as his nieces and nephews and a host of extended family members and friends whose lives he touched deeply. At Dr. Kelly's request, there will be no funeral. The University of Washington will host a celebration of Dr. Kelly's life on Monday, July 27, at 1:30 p.m. in Kane Hall. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to the Samuel E. Kelly Endowment Fund at the University of Washington, Friends of Portland OIC (717 N Killingsworth CT, Portland, OR 97217), or the Clark College Foundation.