In the winter of 1947 Carl Kelly was born to military parents Bill and Louise Kelly in the small town of Batavia, NY. Bill, a corporal and a medic fell in love with Louise, a nurse, when they were stationed in England during World War II, where they were married. Carl (Papa Carl to us) had two older brothers Jimmy and Johnny (the last of the true Texas cowboys), and a younger sister Carol, who was nicknamed “Muffy” by her dad Bill because she looked like a “Muffin Ball” when she was little. In fact, as we all got older, we were shocked to find out her real name was actually Carol and not Muffy.
When Carl was younger, the family moved to Dalhart, TX where his dad worked as a lineman for REA Electric. Having a military dad who grew up feeling the effects of the Great Depression, the ability to work hard and earn an honest day’s pay was instilled into the children at very young ages. It was the 50’s, almost everything had to be done by hand. All of the boys were expected to help their dad dig trench lines and run wire in the hot Texas sun. “There are no child labor laws for ranchers and farmers in Texas”, Carl would say while staring blankly into the distance at some repressed memory of his past.
Carl had fond memories while living in Dalhart, TX as a youth. He would often tell stories of excelling on the swim team, playing basketball, and being the tackle and center on the local football team. Go #71! He also had a passion for the water. The brothers would go water skiing at the lake, and he loved being a lifeguard at the local swimming pool. “I even got paid for it”, he would laugh and say.
Several years later, the family moved to Nara Visa, NM where his dad and his uncle Fred had a working cattle ranch. He would smile and say that those skills learned from REA Electric as a kid worked perfectly into trenching and running water lines from the windmills on the ranch to the numerous water tanks for the livestock.
Longing for adventure, Carl joined the Navy shortly after high school. He would tell stories about boot camp, snorkeling for lobsters in Key West, Florida, with the need to paint all of the shiny metal on his gear to keep from attracting the barracudas, to how proud he was at being asked to help teach other sailors to swim and pass courses. One thing he took very seriously was when he was asked to pack the parachutes for other soldiers. He knew the bond and trust that both parties had for each other and was honored when some soldiers requested that only he be the one to pack their parachutes.
Carl had a real desire to know how things worked. Shortly after the Navy he went to a trade school in Amarillo, TX to learn how to repair TV’s, radios, and anything electronic. He loved electrical diagrams, blueprints, and operating manuals. In fact, he would download and print entire manuals on each of the power tools, equipment, TV’s, and appliances in his home and neatly place them in folders and then a filing cabinet……. but only after religiously reading every page like a Louis Lamour or Twilight book, and marking them up with notes, and dates like a college Freshman would.
After earning some money being a cowboy for his Uncle Tom and cousin David Kelly in Colorado, Carl took a job with Union Carbide, which operated a uranium mine in the area. One day while going past the processing plant, he noticed an attractive single mother outworking the other crew members in her department. It amazed him how determined that little lady was to support herself and her kids. Big Carl fell head over heels, and on July 16th, 1977, he married Linda Kelley, the love of his life. He continued to work for Union Carbide for 17 years, moving his new family from Colorado, to Nevada, and then to Utah as opportunities presented themselves. In 1989, feeling the declining effects of Uranium mining, they finally moved to Enoch, UT. Carl took a job with Wecco as an electrical supervisor during the initial building process. Carl retired from Wecco in 2015.
Carl loved airplanes and airshows, but he also loved building and flying radio-controlled planes, building his own computers, Star Trek, Star Wars, button up western shirts, Redwing boots, pecan sandies, diet coke, clean vehicles, and pretty much anything NASA.
Carl taught all of us to take pride in our work, to respect others, to work hard for the things we want, take care of the things we have, about serving others, serving God, and serving our country.
Papa Carl, you are a good man and will be missed!
Carl is survived by his wife Linda Marie Kelly, sons Samuel Ross Sickels (Mindy), Trent Allan Kelly (Devey) and Clinton Joseph Kelly (Julie); brothers Jim Kelly (Debbie) of Dallas, Texas, and John Kelly (Debbie) of Amarillo, TX; sister Carol Ford (Danny) of Hartley, Texas; 14 Grandchildren and 15 Great Grandchildren
Carl is preceded in death by his father Wilbur “Bill” Willis Kelly, mother Louise De Ette Guthrie Kelly, daughter Pamela Gail Ballard, and grandson Tad Hunter Sickels
Funeral services to honor Carl will be held Friday, August 23rd at 1pm at the Enoch Homestead Building 1390 East Midvalley Rd, Enoch, Utah; Viewing will be 1 hour before the service. Interment will be in the Enoch Cemetery under the direction of Southern Utah Mortuary. To view a livestream of the services and leave online condolences, please visit www.mortuary.org.
