Richard Kelley

Surrounded by loved ones, Richard “Dick” Andrew Kelley died peacefully in his downtown Little Rock home on the morning of August 30, 2021, after a prolonged battle with cancer that his body could no longer fight. He was 81.

A Little Rock native, Kelley grew up on Pine St. and graduated from Little Rock Central High School in 1957. He attended the University of Oklahoma on a Navy ROTC scholarship where he obtained a Bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering.

After graduating in 1962, Kelley proudly spent four years on active duty as a U.S. Naval officer. He specialized as a surface warfare officer, working on U.S. Navy destroyers. Kelley was part of the blockade during the Cuban Missile Crisis in 1962.

During the same time period, he married Teresa Ann Kelley. Together, they had two sons, Richard David Kelley and William Andrew Kelley. The couple divorced in the mid-1980s.

Kelley spent more than two decades in the Naval reserves, retiring as a captain. He then followed his passion for engineering to Pascagoula, Miss., where he became a nuclear ships test engineer at Ingalls Shipbuilding where he also certified submarines for the Navy.

In 1970, Kelley returned to Little Rock where he joined his father’s business, Kelley Brokerage. In the late 1970s, Kelley, in partnership with Ken Jones, founded Industrial Consulting Engineers, or I.C.E., an engineering and design firm based in Little Rock that quickly expanded its business footprint to multiple states across the South and the Southeast.

I.C.E. later merged with Crafton Tull, a civil engineering and architecture firm also headquartered in Little Rock. Kelley gradually entered retirement in the 2000s.

On Oct. 25, 2008, he married Mary Bray Kelley.  Together the couple enjoyed traveling, making trips to China, Israel and Costa Rica. They also spent many weekends at Kelley’s lake house on Lake Hamilton in Hot Springs where Kelley frequently went camping and boating throughout his life. Lake Hamilton was one of his favorite places spend time.

He was a member of the Cathedral of St. Andrew in Little Rock.

Kelley loved animals, keeping bird feeders and fountains in his garden outside of his homes in Little Rock and in Hot Springs. Despite his best efforts, he could not turn away a stray cat. His doors were always open to friends who wanted to stop by for a drink or simply to say hello. He cared deeply about many. He will be dearly missed by many more, including his beloved cat, D.C.

Kelley was pre-deceased by Richard “Dick” Kelley and Betty Jane Kelley. He is survived by his wife, Mary Bray Kelley; sons, Richard David Kelley (Eileen) and William Andrew Kelley (Jean Carlos Correia); sister, Kathy Kelley Farrar; nieces, Kellye Wulfers Lopez  (Romeo) and Lara Farrar; granddaughters, Carrie Gharapour and Jackie Wernz (Matt); stepson, Woody Simmons (Kelly) and their children, Jordan and Carson Simmons; stepdaughter, Cindy Huggs (Russell) and their children, Leah Huggs and Hannah Witkowski (Nick); and great-grandchildren, Dylan Moulden, Isaiah Wernz, Cecily Wernz and Andy Kelley.

The family would like to extend special thanks to Dr. Brad Baltz, and the nursing staffs  of CHI St. Vincent and Arkansas Hospice.

In lieu of flowers, charitable donations may be made to the Cathedral of St. Andrew.

The Rosary is Thursday, September 2 at 9:30 a.m., followed by the Mass of Christian Burial at 10:00 at the Cathedral of St. Andrew, 617 S. Louisiana St., Little Rock, Ark.

Mr. Kelley’s online guestbook may be signed at www.smithfamilycares.com.