Francis Joseph Kelly

Beloved husband, father, grandfather, son, son-in-law, brother, brother-in-law, uncle, friend, chess master, physicist, and devout Catholic Dr. Francis Joseph Kelly, PhD died on May 15, 2024, after a brief illness at the age of 83.
Francis, also known as “Frank” and “Lolo”, was born in Baltimore, Maryland in 1940 on Columbus Day. During his delivery the forceps slipped and scratched his face, leaving a one-inch scar. Eldest of four, Francis was named for his Irish grandfather, whose murder precipitated his father’s emigration to the United States.
In his youth “Fran” was an altar boy, Cub Scout, and had a newspaper route. As a tall, thin boy at Mount Saint Joseph High School in Baltimore, he participated in athletics, school plays, and debate society. He twice was the Maryland state junior chess champion. In 1958 he was named “Best Scholar” and valedictorian. He attended Catholic University of America (CUA) on a full National Merit scholarship and was again valedictorian, graduating magna cum laude with a BS degree in Physics.
While pursuing his doctorate in physics at Catholic University, Francis started his career as a government research physicist at the U.S. Bureau of Standards. More importantly, he met Angelita Castro, a graduate student at the University of Maryland who herself was a valedictorian in Physics and Math from the University of Santo Tomas in Manila, Philippines. In 1964 Frank and Angelita were married twice - once in Washington, D.C. (as they were unable to legally do so in Maryland due to laws that prevented interracial marriage); and the next day at the Immaculate Heart of Mary Catholic Church in Baltimore.
Francis completed his Ph.D. thesis on the topic of neutrinos at Catholic University, where he had studied under Dr. Clyde Cowan, the co-discoverer of neutrinos. He started working as a civilian physicist at the Naval Research Laboratory (NRL). After having three children, Angie took a job at the NASA Goddard Spaceflight Center. The family moved to Adelphi, Maryland and were parishioners at St. Mark’s Catholic Church in Hyattsville, Maryland for the next thirty years. Life in Adelphi was filled with many happy gatherings and a delightful white miniature poodle named Juniper Elmo Blanco. Angie's mother Eufemia Castro helped with the kids and remained with the family until her death in 1994. For three decades Francis’ work at NRL was focused in the areas of high energy particle physics, ELF/VLF radio wave propagation, and especially neutrinos. He published numerous papers and patents and travelled extensively for experiments and scientific conferences.
When Francis retired in July 1994, he was relieved to no longer be contributing to the military industrial complex. After retirement he pursued various interests, including consulting with CUA, participating in the Knights of Columbus, leading the Catholic Association of Scientists and Engineers that he had cofounded with Angelita and Eufemia, and serving as treasurer of the El Marlyn condo association. He would drive across town every Thursday to host a weekly Catholic cable radio program. These activities continued until 2024. Frank and Angie moved to Bowie, Maryland in 2002 to be closer to Angie’s job and grandchildren.
In 2014, after a pilgrimage trip to the Holy Land, Frank and Angie celebrated their golden wedding anniversary surrounded by family and friends. Unfortunately, Angelita passed away much too soon in June 2015.
In 2017 on the feast of the Assumption, Francis met Marie Jeannette Omboli Ayissi from Cameroon in the lobby of Ascension Catholic Church. Despite a language barrier, they shared a love of their Catholic faith. They were wed less than a year later in July 2018. Francis’ life with Marie Jeannette was spent in prayer, volunteering, and celebrating their faith with family and friends. On Sundays they would wake up extra early to drive across town to attend Mass in Latin, and then drive across town again for Marie Jeannette to perform in her choir at St. Mary’s. Francis would attend Mass almost every morning at Ascension, where he regularly served as a lector and usher until his health failed.
At sporting events, parties, waiting rooms, and shopping malls Francis would often sit peacefully making rosaries with wire, beads, and pliers that he carried wherever he went. He gave away thousands of these. For decades he volunteered weekly at Lorton Reformatory. He also helped ship hundreds of containers of books to Africa. He loved visiting famous pilgrimage sites such as Assisi, Lourdes, Fatima, Bethlehem, and Jerusalem. He was happiest in church.
Francis is survived by his second wife, Marie Jeannette Omboli Ayissi and stepdaughters Edwarda and Marie Jeanne; his daughter Maria Hrabinski (Vincent) and their four children: Katrina Wavering (Jack), Timothy, Sophia, and Regina; son Francis, Jr. (Holly) and their son Christopher; and son John (Karen) and their five children: Kaitlyn, Andrew, Caroline, Nicholas, and Cassandra.
Also, he is survived by his sister, Elizabeth Ann Dang, brother Thomas (Dana) and their three children: Casie Kelly Quintos (Jason) and their children Aidan and Joshua; Erin, and Ryan; brothersin- law Attorney Joselito A. Castro and Dr. Jose Morelos, MD, and sister-in-law Miriam Winder Kelly and her daughter Alexandra Kelly; and sisters-in-law Lucia O. Castro, Milagros C. Morelos, and Linda C. Jacobo.
He is predeceased by his first wife of over fifty years, Angelita Castro Kelly, his parents Patrick Joseph Kelly, Sr. and Ann Lydon Kelly, and his brother Patrick, Jr.; father-in-law U.S. Army Captain Dr. Miguel A. Castro, MD, mother-in-law Eufemia A. Castro, sisters-in-law Irene B. Castro, Jovita Castro, and brothers-in-law Tony Dang, Dr. Miguel A. Castro, Jr., MD, Ambassador Pacifico A. Castro, and Proceso Jacobo.
A visitation for Francis will be held Tuesday, June 11, 2024, from 2:00 PM to 4:00 PM and 6:00 PM to 8:00 PM at Beall Funeral Home, 6512 Crain Hwy, Bowie, MD 20715. The funeral service will be held on Wednesday, June 12, 2024, at 10:30 AM at Ascension Catholic Church, 12700 Lanham Severn Road, Bowie, MD 20720. Francis will be laid to rest following the funeral service at 12:15 PM at Gate of Heaven Cemetery, 13801 Georgia Avenue, Silver Spring, MD 20706.