Thomas J. Kelly

1923 - 2021

Thomas J. Kelly

August 19, 1923 - December 5, 2021

On Sunday, December 5, 2021, Tom passed away at Martha Jefferson Hospital in Charlottesville, an institution for which he had long ago served as Board Chair. He was preceded in death by his wife, Dorothea Bowen Kelly, his daughter, Karen Kelly O'Neil of Annapolis, Maryland, his parents and sister.

Tom enjoyed a very full life: Born in Washington D.C., he grew up in Baltimore City and Baltimore County, Maryland. After high school, he enlisted in the U.S. Navy, gained acceptance to its V-12 Program and attended Tufts College in Medford, Mass. Later he served in a patrol bombing squadron in the Pacific. Along the way he met Dot Bowen, the lady who became his wife and changed his life. When the war ended, they married and it was back to college, this time at The Catholic University of America in Washington D.C.

By the time Tom graduated he and Dot already had two children, so he was anxious to get active in the business world. He did, eventually becoming a State Farm Insurance Agent in Baltimore. Given his success as an Agent, as an Agency Manager and as an Agency Director, he was (in 1966) sent to the Charlottesville Regional Office with leadership responsibility for all the company's agents across Virginia and North Carolina.

It didn't take long for Tom to realize that Charlottesville was the place for him. He became active in the community by joining organizations and serving them in various ways – including board service for civic, charitable and social groups – because it allowed him to give back to a place he loved. Of course, Tom also loved his family who were spread over the East Coast; he wished constantly that they lived closer. His family (his children and their spouses, eight grandchildren and ten great-grandchildren) loved him back, unconditionally.

He loved music. He loved to hear it, to dance to it and finally, at the age of 72, he learned to play it by joining the 2nd Wind Band at the Senior Center. Other loves: walking a beach, watching the sunrise, and little kids at play. Tom loved being with people; he was engaging and interested to know about them – he enjoyed dinner and a glass of wine with good friends just days before his death at 98 years old. But most of all, he loved and respected Dot. Never stopped loving her. Never.

Condolences may be shared with the family at hillandwood.com.