James Kelly

James (Jim) Kelly

A Stealth Pioneer at Wright Patterson Air Force Base (WPAFB)

James J. Kelly passed away on November 15, 2014 in Cincinnati. He is survived by his three daughters, Sheila Kelly (Mike Gressel) of Cincinnati, Jean Kelly (Art Stern) of Arlington, VA, and Mary "Maura" (Harold) Stewart of Elk River, MN; his son Sean Kelly of Kettering; and three grandsons, Chris Stewart, Brenden Gressel, and Ryan Gressel. He will also be missed by his sister-in-law Sheila O' Connor and brother-in-law Michael O' Connor in Ireland, his sister-in-law Cleta O' Connor in Canada, and many nieces and nephews in the United States and Canada. His wife Mary Kelly passed away in March 2012. He was also predeceased by his parents, John and Margaret Kelly, his brothers Joe and Dick, and his sisters Mary and Jean.

Jim Kelly worked on the first Stealth Airplane covered with Radar Absorbing Material (RAM). Gus Grissom was the test pilot before he became an astronaut. Jim worked 30 years in Barn Building 821 in Area B of WPAFB. He helped design one of the best anechoic chambers used for testing low cross section targets and evaluation of RAM material, including the first ever, high temperature RAM. Mr. Kelly also developed a concept used on all Stealth aircraft. Most of his job dealt with Secret and Top Secret matters. He had a big input in the Research & Development of many programs dealing with military aircraft. Jim was the first person ever to win Technician of the Year award at WPAFB and opened the door for other Technicians to win the award.

After retiring from WPAFB in 1985, Mr. Kelly also worked at Pratt and Whitney in Florida as an engineer in its Stealth program for seven years. He and his wife Mary lived in Jupiter, Florida from 1985-2005.

Jim was born in Marcus, Iowa in 1930 and moved to Sioux City in 1943. He graduated from Trinity High School in 1948, a Marianist high school. Mr. Kelly was in the Navy for four years. His two brothers and two sisters also served in the U.S. military. He graduated from DeVry Tech in Chicago, Illinois in 1955.

Jim loved family vacations such as going to Sioux City to visit his parents and his brother Dick and family. In 1971, after visiting Sioux City, the family also traveled to Mount Rushmore, Yellowstone National Park, and to Medicine Hat, Canada to visit his wife Mary's brother. The family next went to Spokane, Washington to visit Jim's sister Jean and to San Jose, California to visit his brother Joe's family. The family returned home to Ohio after 5 weeks of traveling.

In 1993, Jim and his wife Mary went to Italy, Switzerland, Paris, and London with their daughter Jean and her husband Art. In 2000, Jim and Mary, their three daughters, three sons-in-law, and three grandsons all traveled to Ireland together. They visited the town where Jim's grandparents had lived in County Mayo.

Jim also loved sports, including the Cincinnati Reds, the University of Dayton, Xavier, the University of Cincinnati, Ohio State, Miami, Iowa, and any sport on TV.

The family will receive visitors on Thursday, November 20 at 9:30 a.m. at St. Margaret of Corona Catholic Church at 6000 Murray Road in Cincinnati. A mass will follow at 10:30 a.m. at the church. In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions may be made to the Cincinnati Association for the Blind and Visually Impaired.