JOSEPH KELLY

1938 - 2020

KELLY--Joseph F. , Jr. passed away Tuesday, April 7 in Manhattan from COVID-19. Joe was born in South Orange, NJ to Marion E. (O'Reilly) and Joseph F. Kelly Sr. on April 29, 1938. The oldest of three sons, he was pre-deceased by his brothers Charles and Paul. He attended St. Benedict's Academy in Newark, NJ and was a member of Notre Dame's Class of 1959. He spent two years in the US Navy as a navigator on the USS Arneb and did two tours through the Panama Canal to Antartica before returning to New York to enroll at NYU Law School. Joe began his legal career as an Assistant US District Attorney in Newark, NJ followed by a partnership at Townley & Updike, service as general counsel at Hess Oil Company, and positions at Curtis Mallet- Prevost, Colt & Mosle, Manatt, Phelps & Phillips, and Dow, Lohnes & Albertson. In his later years, he was a partner at CapitolHealth, a venture capital firm in the healthcare sector. An engaging conversationalist and always fun, Joe will be remembered by his many friends for his gentle and lively spirit, his love for tennis and the ballet and as a lovely pianist with a wonderful singing voice. Survivors include his partner Paula Stelzner of Manhattan, his son James Hamilton Kelly, daughter-in-law Izabella and grandchildren Xavier and Adelaide of Pasadena, California and his daughter Elizabeth Lee Kelly of Manhattan and Bridgehampton, NY.