William Ross Kelly Jr.

William Ross (Bill) Kelly, Jr, age 82, of Bel Air, Maryland passed away on October 24, 2020 at Forest Hill Health & Rehabilitation Center in Forest Hill, Maryland. Born in Raleigh, North Carolina, he was the son of William Ross and Velma Asenath (Wheeler) Kelly and husband of the late Joan Anne (McMahon) Kelly.

Bill worked in the NASA, Aerospace and Defense support industries as a drafter, designer and engineer for the Glenn L. Martin Company, AAI corporation and SAIC. In the early years of his career he worked in development of aircraft structures and wiring. He worked in supporting the designs of many spacecraft and ground support equipment as an electronics packaging designer. He was instrumental in the development of the earliest Automated Surface Observing System (ASOS) used to provide real-time weather information at airports.

Bill was an ultimate DIY person who maintained and repaired his own and other people’s vehicles, and did his own home repairs and improvement projects. He spent many years of his life maintaining a vegetable garden as a hobby.

Bill was a baseball and football fan and enjoyed watching Orioles, Baltimore Colts and Ravens games. He was a youth football and baseball coach with the Gardenville (Baltimore City) and Stemmer’s Run (Baltimore County) recreation councils. He loved bowling, and in his earlier years was a member of the 700 Club at Cedonia Lanes in Baltimore City.

Bill is survived by his two sons, William Ross (Bill) Kelly, III and his wife, Lisa and Brian David Kelly, Sr. and his wife, Dawn; daughter, Brenda Jean Scholl and her husband, Wil; four grandchildren, Megan Kelly, Rebecca Kelly, Katelyn Kelly, and Brian David Kelly, Jr.; 3 great grandchildren, McKenna and Addison Kelly and Ronan Ritter; two sisters, Carolyn Ross Youngberg and Barbara Jean Horsley; and also survived by Seth Jones, Chuckie Wills, Mike Hoyt, Cody Ritter, and numerous nieces and nephews.

In addition to his parents and wife, he was preceded in death by his sister, Velma Joan Kelly.

In lieu of flowers, contributions may be made to: Parkinson's Disease Foundation, 1359 Broadway, Suite 1509, New York, NY 10018.