Cecil H. Kelly Jr.

Cecil H. Kelly, Jr.
September 17, 1925 - June 29, 2021
San Diego
Cecil was born in Idalou, Texas, on September 17, 1925. He attended Brackenridge High School in San Antonio, and in 1942, Cecil joined the U.S. Navy. He was trained as a radioman and served during World War II in the South Pacific. Cecil returned home after the war to San Antonio and assisted his father while learning the mason trade. Cecil re-enlisted in the Navy and served onboard the cruiser USS Rochester (CA-124) during the Korean conflict, and served aboard the ice-breaker USS Burton Island spending a winter in Antarctica. He was then assigned to shore duty in the San Francisco area and then at Port Hueneme, California, where he met Rinah (nee Elizabeth Incze), with whom he was instantly enamored. After an entire week of friendship, the couple decided to get married and were wed in Las Vegas on June 2, 1951.Cecil completed submarine training with tours aboard USS Barbero (SSG-317) and USS Remora (SS-487), both homeported in San Diego. He also served as an instructor at Naval Training Center in Point Loma. Cecil ended his 21-year naval career as a Senior Chief Petty Officer on the staff of the Submarine Group in Pearl Harbor and retired in the San Diego area in 1963. He worked in electronic research in Sorrento Valley, as a teletype technician for Honeywell in Oklahoma City, and for the Control Data computer firm. He attended Palomar College and worked in Robotics until he retired again.During his Navy career, Cecil and Rinah raised three wonderful children in North Clairemont and Costa Mesa with one idyllic year spent on the island of Oahu. Cecil coached the North Clairemont little league teams "Sluggers" and "Pacemakers." He became a member of the Masonic order achieving the position of a past master of the lodge and a member of the York Rite Shrine.Cecil is survived by his wife of 70 years, Rinah, three children, two grandchildren, and five great-grandchildren.