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<p><em>Kevin Gerard Kelly</em>, the son of Joseph Henry Kelly Jr., and Marianne Trotter Kelly, was born in Yonkers, NY. Kevin’s father had a job that required the family (Kevin and his three sisters) to move to various locations in the country prior to Kevin attending high school in Long Island, NY.</p>
<p>Kevin was an exceptional student at Chaminade High School in Mineola, NY. Kevin not only excelled academically, but Kevin was also very active in several extracurricular activities. He was a highly respected leader in his high school, and he was awarded several academic scholarships his senior year. One of his scholarships was a Navy ROTC Scholarship to Holy Cross University. However, Kevin’s heart and mind were set on becoming a member of the Long Gray Line. Kevin knew the prestige of attending West Point overshadowed the NROTC scholarship and all other college scholarship opportunities. </p>
<p>Kevin “Kilo” Kelly stood out in many ways as a cadet in Company A-4. Physically Kevin was over 6-feet tall, red headed, and weighed around 150 lbs. soaking wet! As a plebe, Kevin was easy to spot by the company upperclassmen. However, Kevin had an uncanny ability to quickly memorize plebe knowledge and was always ready to respond to any upperclassman’s demand to recite plebe knowledge. Kevin had an enthusiastic sense of humor; he was the calming factor for many of his A-4 classmates. One of his A-4 classmates described Kevin as a cadet who “had an ear-to-ear grin and a unique laugh. Kevin found a way to put it all into perspective. Often, he used humor to diffuse tension; he cared deeply about the A-4 brotherhood. He was there for all of us.”</p>
<p>Kevin was an excellent student, making the dean’s list every year. Kevin had a wonderful tenor singing voice, so he joined the Catholic Choir and Glee Club. Kevin was also very active with the Class Committee. In his senior year, Kevin was promoted to the Brigade Staff as the assistant brigade adjutant. One of Kevin’s most memorable experiences as the assistant brigade adjutant was being on the “Poop Deck” in the Cadet Mess Hall during the filming of the movie <em>MacArthur</em> and meeting the star of the movie, Gregory Peck. </p>
<p>There were two experiences that Kevin was most proud of during his time as a cadet. Each year Kevin struggled with the rope climb, one of the obstacles for the Indoor Obstacle Course Test (IOCT). However, in his senior year he had gained enough upper-body strength to complete all the obstacles for the IOCT. The second cadet experience Kevin was most proud of was being in Company A-4, one of only two cadet companies that had no one implicated in the electrical engineering honor scandal. </p>
<p>Upon graduation Kevin was commissioned in Armor. Following completion of the Armor Officer Basic Course at Fort Knox, KY and Ranger School at Fort Benning, GA, Kevin was assigned to the 24th Infantry Division at Fort Stewart, GA. Kevin served for over four years at Fort Stewart in the 9th Calvary Regiment as a platoon leader, company executive officer, battalion adjutant, and company commander. </p>
<p>While stationed at Fort Stewart, Kevin would meet the love of his life, Shannon Brooks. In the summer of 1979 Kevin met Shannon and it was love at first sight. They got engaged in the fall of 1979 in Augusta, GA. A quick calendar check revealed that, as always, the world-famous Masters golf tournament would take place on the first week of April, so they immediately chose a wedding date to enable them to attend the Masters golf tournament after their marriage. On March 29, they were married at Shannon’s church, Saint Mary on the Hill Catholic Church in Augusta, and on, April 10, they attended the opening day of the Masters as husband and wife. It was the beginning of long and beautiful marriage and together they had two wonderful daughters, Emily and Sarah. In 37 years of marriage, Kevin put every ounce of energy and love into his family: family meant everything to Kevin.</p>
<p>After serving five highly successful years in the Army, Kevin felt a strong desire to carve out a new path in life and decided to pursue a career as a financial advisor. Kevin had a very long and successful career as a financial advisor, working for 34 years at various prestigious financial firms. Kevin’s last career position was as a director of investments for the Oppenheimer Holdings Company. Kevin spent 13 outstanding years at this company, he truly rose to the top of his profession.</p>
<p>Whether it be at work or in his personal life, Kevin pushed himself toward excellence and expected nothing less from himself. Kevin would see a huge challenge and say, “Why not?” and then prepare himself to take on that challenge. Kevin was an avid runner, and his goal was to run in both the New York Marathon and Boston Marathon, and he accomplished both.</p>
<p>Kevin had a zeal for life, and he cherished every moment, especially with those he loved the most, his family and friends. “Kilo’s” early departure from this life saddened all of his A-4 “Band of Brothers,” we all miss that distinctive laugh and huge smile! May he rest in peace.</p>
<p><em>— Classmates and friends</em></p>
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