- Date Of Birth: December 17, 1934
- Date Of Death: July 24, 2018
- State: Georgia
There are those men who are born to be great leaders or those who amass great fortunes. There are also those men born who have a great and realistic view of life. P. J. Kelley was one of those individuals. Paul Jerome Kelley was born in Molena, Georgia on December 17, 1934.
He was one of 13 children born to the late J. B. and Lois Self Kelley. P. J. came to be known by his initials during his career with BellSouth. Depending on what part of his life and your relationship, he was also known as Jerome or “Baby”, since he was the youngest of 13 children. He did not particularly volunteer that last fact to most folks.
He came from a family possessed of a great work ethic. P. J. spent 42 years employed with BellSouth. It was hard for him to sit in one place for very long, so after all those years with BellSouth he spent some quite happy years with Southtowne Motors. Throughout his life, P.J. was a very active person and coached all his sons in baseball. Many of those friendships formed in Little League have carried over into lifetime relationships. He was a great fan of seasonal outdoor sports and dove and quail season would always find him in the fields.
He always enjoyed golf and some thought that he moved into a home on the golf course thinking he would absorb better skills from the soil. Being an eternal optimist, he faithfully followed Georgia Tech sports. P. J. Kelley was a dedicated member of Central Baptist Church and looked forward to sitting in “his place” on Sunday mornings. P. J ‘s greatest accomplishments had nothing to do with sports, work or wealth. The things that mattered most in life to him were his relationships with others. He was the consummate jokester; always in good fun, though. He could match wits with the best of them.
He was a devoted husband to his wife Linda. He was an exemplary father to his sons Jerry (Christy) Kelley of Newnan, Johnny (Lisa) Kelley of Lincoln, MO, Bob (Kim) Kelley of Clarksville GA and Keith (Wendy) Jackson of Atlanta. He was a doting and jovial grandfather to Jay (Manda) Kelley of Vidalia GA, Katie (Jeremy) Capshaw of Newnan, Nick (Jill) Kelley of Olathe, KS, J. G. (Hannah) Kelley of Lees Summit, MO, Brooke (Craig) Buchanan of Newnan, Will (Devon) Kelley of Wetumpka, AL, Rob Kelley of Clarksville, GA, Peter (Alex) Grimm of Chapel Hill, NC, Julia Grimm of Atlanta, GA. There are 11 great grandchildren. Of the thirteen original children in his family, his sole surviving sibling is his sister, Carolyn Barrett.
