[Tall-Corn] Obituary for Richard "Rich" Kelly

rjray at q.com rjray at q.com
Sat Jul 16 00:14:22 UTC 2022


In Loving Memory
Richard "Rich" Kelly
June 26, 1959 - July 13, 2022

Rich's funeral service will be live streamed on the Martin Mattice Funeral
Home Facebook page.

VISITATION
Friday, July 15, 2022
4:00 - 7:00 P.M.
Martin-Mattice Funeral Home
Emmetsburg, Iowa

MASS OF CHRISTIAN BURIAL
Saturday, July 16, 2022
10:30 A.M.
Holy Family Catholic Church
Emmetsburg, Iowa

CELEBRANT
Rev. Bill Schreiber

INURNMENT
St. John's Catholic Cemetery
Emmetsburg, Iowa


Richard Paul Kelly was born on June 26, 1959 in Waterloo, Iowa, to Donald
and Joanne (Kliegl) Kelly.  He passed from this world on July 13, 2022.

Rich attended Emmetsburg Catholic School through 8th grade and graduated
from Emmetsburg High school in 1978.  During high school, he was elected to
the Emmetsburg City Council and was - and still is - the youngest ever to
serve on the city council.

After high school, he studied political science at Iowa Lakes Community
College and earned his associate degree in 1980 at which time he chose to
resign from city government.

Rich's fierce interest in political science took him to the University of
Iowa next where he received his bachelor's degree in political science and a
minor in history in 1982.

He was  a substitute teacher of social studies and government in the Iowa
City area until 1987 when his failing eyesight prompted a move back to his
hometown of Emmetsburg.  It was here that he used a personal computer and
the internet to begin a company specializing in desktop publishing.  He also
supported himself by selling Irish folk music over the internet.

Rich's computer expertise and compassion led him to partner with Intuit and
develop a Quickbooks tutorial that has helped others who are blind to find
their independence in the realm of finance.

Through his computer business, Rich met Debra, who was also blind, at a
conference in Minneapolis.  They married in 2004 and both found fullness in
life solving everyday problems together, never letting their blindness
affect their progress.  They lived independently and helped many throughout
the community and the world to advance in their lives also.  They were
inseparable until Debra's death in 2017.

Rich was a talented cook and baker and many throughout the community have
enjoyed his creations.  He was also a master engineer with his miniature
train sets.  He truly lived, and his life gives testimony to the Scripture
verse:  We walk by faith and not by sight.

He was preceded in death by his father, Donald; wife, Debra; and a sister,
Lorraine Kahl.

Survivors include his mother Joanne, brothers Kevin (Cheryl) and Steve
(Judy) and a sister, Mary Soukup.  As a Kelly and Kliegl descendent, Rich is
also survived by numerous nieces and nephews, uncles, aunts and cousins, as
well as beloved friends, both national and international, whom he met in his
work with computers.

-----Original Message-----
From: Tall-Corn <tall-corn-bounces at nfbnet.org> On Behalf Of Cindy Ray via
Tall-Corn
Sent: Friday, July 15, 2022 7:01 PM
To: tall-corn at nfbnet.org
Cc: Cindy Ray <cindyray at gmail.com>
Subject: [Tall-Corn] Obituary for Richard "Rich" Kelly

Obituary for Richard "Rich" Kelly

View details at 

https://www.martinmatticefuneralhome.com/obituary/richard-rick-kelly

Brought to you by Martin-Mattice Funeral Home
https://www.martinmatticefuneralhome.com


Cindy Lou Ray
Sent from my iPhone
_______________________________________________
Tall-Corn mailing list
Tall-Corn at nfbnet.org
http://nfbnet.org/mailman/listinfo/tall-corn_nfbnet.org
To unsubscribe, change your list options or get your account info for
Tall-Corn:
http://nfbnet.org/mailman/options/tall-corn_nfbnet.org/rjray%40q.com




More information about the Tall-Corn mailing list