A Big Inspiration...

He may not be on the face of this Earth anymore, but Michael Kelly was the one of the greatest inspirations in my life. He wasn't just a great man who raised a loving family, had a great job, had a great love of Pontiacs ever since he could drive and helped out with church activities and church athletics. Most importantly, he was the greatest Dad I ever had.

He was born in Canada in 1956 and he was originally a foster child before he came to the United States. He made his way eventually to St. Louis where he graduated from Lindbergh High School in 1975. He didn't go to college right away due to financial challenges so he worked at a KFC restaurant. The years behind the counter would eventually pay off as he went to ITT Tech and became an employee of Southwestern Bell (before it was acquired by AT&T).

My dad and mom met at Mizzou in the middle 1970s and even though my dad persisted on taking my mom to either a Moody Blues or Eagles concert nonstop, all it took was one concert for my mom to realize that she wanted to spend the rest of her life with him. They would still listen to the classic artists like Fleetwood Mac, Elton John, The Beatles, The Moody Blues, The Eagles, The Doobie Brothers, Boston, Chicago, The Beach Boys and so much more. Eventually, my siblings and I would also grow to love these artists as well and we could always find good memories whenever one of their songs comes on.

Eventually, the first job at Southwestern Bell would pay off for him as he would eventually become Regional Manager for Southwestern Bell in St. Louis. The important job meant that he could raise a good family in a good home. He and my mother would always teach us to live within our means and they lived up to that example by saving up for us to go to college as we got older while we would able to go on a family vacation every summer. With that, he could also spend spare time being a disc jockey for parties and occasions that friends of the family wanted him to perform. He also was the athletic director at Holy Infant Catholic Church from 1990 - 2003 where he emphasized that while 10% of kids would love playing a sport so much that they could see themselves playing from high school to their career as an athlete, he wanted to make sure the other 90% of kids had a chance to actively play the sport. He was always about the team and while I heard some heated conversations between him and some coaches and parents that wanted to play favorites, he always put the kids' interests first.

I remember the day he passed on all too well. May 23, 2003 started off like a normal day with all of us off from school while my dad had a well-deserved day off from work. My mom and dad would have friends over for an evening party so my dad and I went to Subway so I could have an easy dinner while they got ready for the party. Fast forward to 10 PM, I was downstairs in our basement watching Food Network and Emeril was mixing a drink before he got to his first dish. I could easily hear laughing upstairs that has been going on all night until I heard my mom scream, "Oh, my God! Someone call 911!" I thought it was nothing at first, but I ran upstairs as soon as I heard a lot of commotion through the ceiling. My dad was unconscious after suffering what was a heart attack. Someone at the party performed CPR, so he was still breathing when the paramedics arrived. When we got to the hospital, everyone just started praying and hoping that my dad would make it through this. It was a few minutes after 11 PM and the doctors came in and told us he was gone.

Thanks to a vast wealth of family and friends from school, church, work and all over, my family and I were able to move on with our lives while remembering all the little memories that Mike had in our lives. Some are happy and some are sad, but I would have not changed a thing with how I spent time with my dad, how he raised me and our family and how much he believed in me. He knew that I always wanted to do something with weather when I grew up and I know that as I get closer to a job, he's already so proud of how far I've come in my life. I love you, Dad. You've taught me so much and you're always looking out for me even from the heavens above. One of the most important things that you taught me are that if you work hard in life and in school, you can become anything you set your heart and mind to. You are still one of the greatest inspirations in my life.