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John Kelso Obituary
Kelso, an endlessly funny writer and genuinely sweet guy, was 73.
Memories and Condolences
for John Kelso
300 Entries
Catherine Hiegert
January 10, 2022
oh john, i'm so heartbroken that i lost you after having just shared our conversation about Kay's surgery and then i wondered when you said you were doing ok but it had been a tough time.. Roger and i spent every morning of our relationship with you..even before the coffee. Becoming friends with you...i forgot you were famous...ive been missing you and find my fears are well founded..ride on my brother...the fates will have a time keeping up with you...peace love joy..bless Kay and give her peace
Glyn Mitte
November 6, 2017
I'll never forget John showing up in his jammies at the newsroom around 4am, when he came in to send off his column. He, as I did, worked most creatively in those quiet morning hours. Miss you John. You were a real human being.
Tom Connally
August 7, 2017
My fondest personal experience of brother Kelso was when he played Mother Ginger in "The Nutcracker". We'll miss you kindred spirit. Go with God, and beat OU.
Saad and Kathy Eways
August 6, 2017
God speed Mr. Kelso. God bless. You brought a laugh into our house.
Saad and Kathy Eways and grandson Dexter.
Toni Rayner
August 4, 2017
Kelso has always been there! We moved to Austin just after he began writing in the AA-S. Kelso's column was very often the First thing my Dad would find to read, and share. At our small biz, Kelso WOULD be discussed. Like a pop-quiz. RIP John K. Thank you.
Bob and Leilani Calzada
August 3, 2017
So saddened to hear that John passed. His humor, laughter helped to make working at the paper such a wonderful experience. Was especially honored when on a couple of occasions, he tried out column ideas on me. John, your spirit and kindness is missed. Condolences to your family.
Vicente Paredes
August 1, 2017
A life well lived. I will miss hearing, "hey, did you read Kelso today?"
August 1, 2017
So sorry to hear the news, I always kept the junk from your garage after we helped clean it out. I told everyone Hey! I have John Kelso's old ironing board. Love your column, loved your humor
Angie Gross
August 1, 2017
I always loved your writing. Your legacy will always be with the world through your words. You will be missed. See you on the flip side.
Betty Perley
August 1, 2017
So sorry for the families loss and for Austin's loss. John was a neighbor of my mother-in-law when he lived on Fair Oaks Dr. Our families shared many stories about the Boston Red Sox and stories of Maine. My mother-in law is from New Brunswick Canada and spent a lot of time in Maine. My husband, kids and I also lived on Fair Oaks and one of his columns was about a dog we had. Max had one of the worst overbites of the low jaw. Thus, a column about the "ugliest" dog he ever saw. Next day my mother-in-law called him out by telling him that dog belonged to her grandchildren. We all got a big laugh out of that one!
Well, John, enjoy watching the Red Sox from your place in Heaven.
The Perleys and Henrietta Black
Alice Roberts
August 1, 2017
John,
You will be greatly missed by the Wild Bunch and your Longhorn family. I'm so glad I got to know you as a dear friend at all those tailgates, road trips and Rag Fests. Your humor and intelligence were exceptional and you were an Austin institution. I miss you already!
Alice Roberts
jesse TAMAYO
July 31, 2017
I enjoyed his column very much and will always think about him. He was the same age as me and we came to austin the same year I used to hang out at the giddy ups saloon also. I wish I could have met him.
Sharon Coleman
July 31, 2017
I was traveling on Friday and through the weekend, and just learned of Mr. Kelso's death today. I am heartbroken. He was truly one of a kind; I primarily started and renewed my subscriptions over the years due to him, Ben Sargent, and Mike Kelley. May he rest in peace, or, better yet, find even more interesting topics to write about in the Great Beyond. Thank you, Kelso, for all you've contributed to us.
Bob Jendusa
July 31, 2017
The only thing better than reading John Kelso was working with John Kelso. RIP John. You will be missed, but never forgotten.
Wayne Carpenter
July 31, 2017
Thanks for the wonderful memories. I suspect somewhere you and Molly Irvins are hoisting a few cold ones and discussing the crazy political scene. Here's to you, John!
Brian Peterson
July 31, 2017
Another part of old Austin has passed away. Now we all will be a little less weird and also poorer for it.
Sleep well, my friend.
Sumaiya Malik
July 30, 2017
I have subscribed to the Statesman for the past 24 years and John Kelso was my favorite columnist. He used humor so well to drive a point home and managed to make me laugh out loud... not just LOL, but first a big smile and a chuckle too. He taught me how to enjoy the weird side of Austin and join the club. Proud of being weird and so proud of Kelso.
Bob Perkins
July 30, 2017
John, we will miss you and your amazing talent to make us laugh. Que Dios te bendiga.
July 30, 2017
Thank you for for sharing your humor with Austin. Your writings always made me laugh. I know you will be missed by many, especially me. Rest In Peace!
Arisa Rice
July 30, 2017
Rest In Peace Mr, Kelso. Thank you for your unrelenting humor.
Charlotte Hair
July 30, 2017
RIP John Kelso.... you touched many of us "Austinites" with your on-point , no frills, perspectives of our city. Prayers for peace to you Kay Cavin Kelso.... I would love to catch up with you when you have the time and strength. ❤
Keith Goolsbey
July 30, 2017
The value of humor to the human condition is vastly underrated. Thank you for elevating us all with your gift. For me, you were the essence of Austin. You will absolutely be missed. My heartfelt condolences to your entire family, coworkers, and thousands of admirers.
Sarah Benak
July 29, 2017
John, please give Li'l One Eye a big hug when you get to the rainbow bridge. Thanks for being such a good guy. Thanks for giving me a phone call back in the day. Love you.
Sarah Benak
July 29, 2017
Mr. Kelso, we true-blue born-and-bred Austinites are in debt to you through and through. Your wit and spirit will be missed. God truly wanted an excellent writer back.
Carl Furry
July 29, 2017
This is sad news. I'll never forget one of Kelso's best lines. He was writing about how much better looking the girls at Texas State University were compared even to UT. The line went something like this: "When I walk around UT, I feel like an old man. When I walk around Texas State, I feel like a dirty old man."
Funny stuff. He'll be missed by those of us who like to laugh.
Gordon McClain
July 29, 2017
So sorry to hear of John's passing. A fan for many years. He will be missed by many. Thoughts and prayers for his family.
Clayton Frink
July 29, 2017
Funny man, reliable worker, keen observer.
Most, a TRULY GREAT guy!
Kaye Northcott
July 29, 2017
Molly Ivins told me that John attended a South Austin yoga class that allowed smoking. She ,went too. Alas.
Kaye Northcott
Bill Edwards
July 29, 2017
People who didn't know John might be surprised to learn that he was very unassuming. He was a guest one day on a local radio station, and I called in to ask him about a memorable column of his. He interrupted and said: "Wasn't my column. Mike Kelly writes all the memorable ones." John wasn't joking -- he told me the same thing when I saw him a day or two later.
Mike Martin
July 29, 2017
Rip mr kelso
Margaret Swinney
July 29, 2017
I've had the pleasure of his company and been the butt of his jokes and everything in between. R.I.P Dear Kelso, you were loved more than you know.
My sympathies to his wife Kay and family.
C'mon, John. Write sumpn funny!
Jim Baker
July 29, 2017
Walking across campus...Spring of '78 maybe...pass the Littlefield Fountain...when the placard on the bus driving by proclaimed about Kelso, "Writes like he has a gear loose." That's always who he was for me. And damn glad on every reading!!
Annelle Pulliam
July 29, 2017
Loved his humor and will miss his writing. I recently ran across my favorite column and put it in a plastic sleeve to put into a notebook book I'm making of my favorite stuff for my kids and grandkids. On February 16, 1978, John published "Does your Spanish ache?" about the trials and tribulations of Spanish class. I read it again recently and laughed as hard as I did in 1978. That kind of humor never grows old and is a testament to his fine work. I will truly miss this talented lovely man.
Trisha Runyan
July 29, 2017
Thank you for all the times I laughed aloud at your wit.
Sara Laas
July 29, 2017
Keeping Austin Weird will never be as much fun without you, John Kelso. Thanks for making us laugh so much over the years it was a wonderful gift to Austin, one we came to count on. You are missed so much already.
Lee Mattingly
July 29, 2017
Thanks John for all the laughs and reality check. As a Native Austinite (recently moved to Hawaii 4 years ago) I welcomed you wholeheartedly...Oklahoma, not good...but at least it was not California! You made Austin a Better Place!
Until our next ride.
John Reilly
July 29, 2017
Thanks for the laughs, John.
Peter Lichtenheld
July 29, 2017
Austin misses John Kelso already. It was always fun to read his witty columns. I'll especially miss the funky X-mas card column he'd write around the winter holidays. Keep it up in the afterlife John (and could you send us a sign if there indeed IS an afterlife?)!
Eric Englert
July 29, 2017
Being an Austin native, I grew up with Kelso's columns. He'll be sorely missed, and the Statesman won't be the same without him.
Kent Lewis
July 29, 2017
I always enjoyed reading John Kelso's column. His humor and wit will truly be missed.
Lynda Shanblum
July 29, 2017
John always made us laugh - and think!
My late parents, well into their mid-90's, would often start our evening phone calls with "did you read John Kelso today?" Insight, humor, and tell-it-like-it-is candor - no one did it better. We've lost a uniquely Austin treasure. Thanks, John, and keep 'em laughing.
Glen Worley
July 29, 2017
Loved reading John Kelso's columns. He proves why the free press is so important. We need more Kelso's to puncture the puffed up politicians and biz folks that think they know best how to run everyone else's lives! And do it in a humorous way! Godspeed John Kelso!
Karen Marion
July 29, 2017
Thanks John Kelso for making life Fun! You put a smile on all our faces!
July 29, 2017
John, who am I to turn to now for my acid, astute humor! We'll all miss you!
Ron Edelstein
JP Austin
July 29, 2017
Rest in peace John. Condolances to his family and friends. Almost always enjoyed reading his quirky humor.
Gemma Franks
July 29, 2017
Rest In Peace
Gerald Walker
July 29, 2017
John n Kelso thank you for being a friend to my mother and me Edna and Gerald Walker
Peter barbour
July 29, 2017
Jim Murray, Dan Jenkins and John Kelso ...my journalistic heroes.
RIP JK. Have a fun time in the afterlife!
Patricia Cochran
July 29, 2017
Sincerest condolences to his family. The Statesman will not be the same without John Kelso. Thank you for the wonderful columns.
Diana Argersinger
July 29, 2017
Thanks for those columns. I was lucky enough to have had 14 yrs of enjoyment & to get to know his Austin.
Ann Allega
July 29, 2017
I haven't lived in Austin since 2000 but always still keep up with the news and for me this is sad news. At times (most times) I went straight to John Kelso's column, ignoring lots of other things. I lived in Austin from 1980 to 2000 and he was as much a part of my wonderful Austin life as anything else. God Bless you John.
Valerie Humbird
July 29, 2017
You will be greatly missed. Have fun writing in the sky. V. Humbird
Mike Konderla
July 29, 2017
You were a good friend and a great supporter of UT ATHLETICS!!! YOU WILL BE MISSED
Cesar De la garza
July 29, 2017
I got to Austin in 1992 and your column and quips have become a regular part of my life. I will miss you and your humor. Thanks for adding a little levity to the ills of this city and world. Rip...thoughts and prayers to the family...
July 29, 2017
I read his column for 21 years. Rest in peace John, and I look foward to reading more of your work when I cross over to the other side too.
Ernie Durawa
July 29, 2017
Hey John!
You will be missed friend..Austin Statesman will never be the same without your column.
Mary Lou Lane
July 29, 2017
To the Hog Eye Bait Shop one more time, raise that beer in memory of the Ugly Truck Contest. Thank you and keep them laughing up there. You are missed.
Carole Blazek
July 29, 2017
RIP John, you will be missed!!May God bless you and your family in this time of sorrow.
Bill Orcutt
July 29, 2017
I moved to Austin the same year John started with the Statesman. His columns were delightfully wicked and fearless. He will be missed.
John McLaren
July 29, 2017
He got it. Humor is the highest form of imtelligence.
Victor Blackburn
July 29, 2017
Austin has lost one of its most precious landmarks.
Dan Nugent
July 29, 2017
Kelso, south austin dang, brother
Larry Oliver
July 29, 2017
John was a friend and neighbor and was never too busy to chat. He was a nice guy and will be missed.
July 29, 2017
We will miss you John Kelso.
William Brown
July 29, 2017
Hail and farewell to the 'Big Cheese". You and Leslie are going to be just fine in the hereafter. [A Texan in srlf imposed exile].
WD Brown/Naples Fl.
Liz Rodriguez
July 29, 2017
Thank you for sharing your humor and wit for so many years, and for reminding us of Austin's roots and why we like it weird. You will be sorely missed!
Claude Ducloux
July 29, 2017
John Kelso was a sweet treat in the paper, and often you felt like you had to read him in secret, as his humor often was the target of polite society. Before the retirement of Mike Kelley, the two of them tag-teamed the Austin readers with their equally creative humor, told from different perspectives. What drew me particularly to John was that we shared common experiences: serving in the Army as grunts, and his wonderful disdain for hypocrites and dunderheads. We will always love you, John, Requiescat in Pace, brother.
Ron Dusek
July 29, 2017
My condolences to John's family.
Ron Dusek
Paula Dominy
July 29, 2017
So sorry for your loss always enjoyed reading his work he always kept it real and made you laugh and think.
Virginia Healer
July 29, 2017
Condolences to John's wife, family, and to Austin. May our collective memories be a comfort to us all. Weren't we fortunate to have Kelso in our lives?
Phyllis Carter
July 29, 2017
He will truly be missed. Enjoyed reading his column since 1978. He was an Austin Legend.
Barbara Ryan
July 29, 2017
Thanks for the laughs.
Holly Brown
July 29, 2017
I adore crotchety older men and Kelso was one of my favorites...next to my own Dad, that is. You'll be dearly missed Mr. Kelso.
Rick Rogers
July 29, 2017
John Kelso wrote an article about me back in the '80's. When I met him I tried to make my interview interesting but I couldn't think of anything funny to say. He understood and he made the article very funny. He was a great guy and I will miss him. Rest in peace my friend.
Jimmy K
July 29, 2017
RIP Kelso.
July 29, 2017
I was so very sorry to hear of John's death, and offer my deepest condolences to his family. I regularly read and enjoyed his columns, when I lived in Georgetown TX back in the late 80's / early 90's. Years later, after I'd left Texas and was working in Ohio, I was browsing the internet and came across an online copy of the American Statesman that contained a column by him. After reading it I sent John an email wishing him well, and stating that his column had made my whole day. He promptly sent me a nice note in response, thanking me and offering appropriate sympathies to me for having to live in the frigid north!
Vivian Holmes
July 29, 2017
My condolences to the Kelso family and to his family at the AAS. For those of us who read your column for decades, we will miss you. Thank you for sharing your gift of witty humor. Your spirit lives on south of the river!
Liz hendler
July 29, 2017
I wish when Ken Herman asked for cards and letters that I had sent one. My appreciation would have been better if he heard it.
Bob Kinney
July 29, 2017
John always told the Truth from a Real Austin Perspective. Enjoyed his emails in our later years. Write On - John
Jane Leatherman Van Praag
July 29, 2017
Through your columns I came to be so glad we readers were sharing the planet with you.
My best to your family and close friends while they adjust to life here without you.
Bill Dumas
July 29, 2017
So sad, with you goes one of the last vestiges of "South Austin " that I truly loved. Your column in The Stateman, was the only reason I put up with the paperboy who consistently threw my paper in the tall hedges. Rest In Peace, you will be forever remembered and will live forever in your written words and musings.
Carol Boucher
July 29, 2017
I so enjoyed your columns, sweet dreams.
Eddy Davis
July 29, 2017
R.I.P Mr.Kelso
Robert Salazar
July 29, 2017
He will be missed. I have read his articles for years and once had the opportunity to meet him. I was at Aqua Fest watching an act and carrying on a polite conversation with the woman standing next to me. I don't know how it came up but she told me she was his wife.
I informed her that I had been a big fan of his for years. She told me he would be delighted to hear that from me. I thought she was joking but she pointed him out in the front row.
I went down and got his attention. I told him I had just been talking to his wife and that I really enjoy his writing and had been a big fan for many years. He smiled, shook my hand and thanked me.
I am horribly saddened by this. One of the last vestiges of Old Austin has passed. We lost a local legend. RIP.
Carole Peck
July 29, 2017
Though John Kelso was not born here, he was an Austin original. He will be missed.
Dy Anna Robinson
July 29, 2017
You will truly be missed. You made my life a lot more fun, thank you for just being you.
Gayle Johnson
July 28, 2017
I really enjoyed John's column. My condolences to his wife and family.
Jean Dordek
July 28, 2017
Such a loss to us all. Such a great sense of humor always. Kept us smiling through hard times. Thanks John. Keep those angels rolling in the aisles up there. Blessings on his family.
July 28, 2017
I will miss you.
Bernice Bullock
July 28, 2017
John will be missed. John and his late wife Sally were my neighbors for over 25 plus years. He would surprise me by writing about me in the paper. One day he wanted to take a picture of my old yellow pickup and I said sure. Not long after that I went to the grocery store and saw his first book that he wrote about his neighbors with my Yellow Pickup's picture on the book cover. He would write about me a lot without telling me. He was a funny guy. He wrote about my traveling beagle dog "Jackson". John got Jackson's first born male and named him Ruffus. When John moved out of my neighbor hood he gave me his old cat named "Scooter". I have a lot of good memories of John and a lot of good stories plus a lot of funny stories. He was a good neighbor and friend. Rest in Peace John.
July 28, 2017
Vaya Con Dios! We will miss you.
Albert Lin
July 28, 2017
Goodbye, John Kelso. You moved to Austin roughly the same time I did, 1976-1977, except I was a runt at 10 years old then. But I grew up reading you, in days where we actually had to wait for the paper. You gave many of us laughs every day, and often when we needed it the most. You lived a most excellent life.
Steve Jester
July 28, 2017
Goodbye my friend, you will be missed.
Andy Friedmann
July 28, 2017
We'll miss you, John. Thanks always for your humor.
Linda McCormack
July 28, 2017
I always enjoyed reading his newspaper columns. He will be missed.
July 28, 2017
My prayers & condolences to his family. True, We'll miss him here but heaven has gained another angelic humorist.
The Bryce Jordan Family
July 28, 2017
Condolences to the Kelso family. Hope it helps to know all Austin misses him, too,
Mickey CROWELL
July 28, 2017
I loved his articles. Great guy. The one where he dressed as Barney, the dinosaur, and went around to bars in South Austin, was my favorite. Gonna miss him.
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