Honoring the Memory
of Those
We Love

With heavy hearts and profound gratitude for a life well lived, we share the passing of Jack Lewis Kelly on September 1, 2026, surrounded by the love of his family. He was 90 years old and one day prior to their 70th wedding anniversary.
Jack Kelly grew up in Kewanee, Illinois, where he met the love and anchor of his life, Judith “Judy” Lee (Oliver) Kelly. Jack graduated from the University of Illinois in 1957 with a degree in mechanical engineering. He moved with his family to Pittsburgh, PA to begin a 30-year career with Westinghouse designing energy-related equipment. Engineering taught him how to build things that worked and lasted; faith showed him what was worth building, and service became his life’s work.
In 1974, Jack began volunteering with South Hills Interfaith Movement (SHIM), a human services organization dedicated to improving the lives of people in need across the South Hills, PA. What began as volunteer service became more than five decades of devotion. He helped transform it from a small organization operating out of a basement in a mall into the thriving community organization it is today, with a permanent office, gardens, programs, and an enduring mission of service. Alongside Judy, he helped establish the annual Angel Emporium program, helping families receive the support they need during the holiday season. Jack also served as an Elder and teacher at his church, and a committed Gideon throughout those decades. The Gideon’s distribute bibles all over the world.
For all he gave in service to others, Jack also knew there was a world meant to be experienced. Jack traveled widely, curious to experience the world firsthand. Yet for all the places Jack traveled, there was one place that offered something different. Seneca Lake was where he could simply be. What began as summer weekends spent camping became a generations-long tradition of family, friendship, and time together. At the heart of those summers-and of Jack’s life-was family. Beneath Jack’s stoic nature was a deeply loving family man. He showed his love less in words than in presence: the traditions kept, the gatherings shared, and the years spent watching his family grow.
He leaves behind his beloved wife of 70 years, Judith “Judy” Lee Kelly, his children Deborah Ferlic (Joe), Steve Kelly (Kelly), and Tim Kelly (Jen), and the family they built together-including eight grandchildren and three great-grandchildren who knew him not only as a grandpa, but as a steady, quiet source of love and wisdom. He was preceded in death by his beloved daughter, Cathy Jean Kelly-McClellan, whose own life of service, compassion, and faith reflected so much of what she learned from her father.
Jack spent his life trusting God with the schedule. The work is finished. What he built remains. What he gave carries forward. “Well done, good and faithful servant.”
The family asks that donations be made to SHIM: 2601 South Park Rd, Bethel Park, PA, 15102And the Gideons International Allegheny South Camp: PO Box 81, South Park, PA 15129. There will be a Celebration of Life service on Monday, December 28, 2026 at noon at Hamilton Presbyterian Church 4500 Hamilton Rd, Pittsburgh PA 15236.