Gene Kelly

Gene Kelly passed away peacefully at the Siena Care Home in Auburn, Calif., on Dec. 4, 2009, following a yearlong battle with cancer.

He was 82 years old and had recently celebrated his 60th wedding anniversary.

He proudly enlisted and served in the U.S. Navy in 1956 and was assigned to the destroyer USS Boyd DD544 in the Aleutian Islands. In December 1947 he received his first honorable discharge and joined the U.S. Naval Reserve. In November 1950, he again served his country during the Korean conflict, and received his second honorable discharge in December  1952.

In 1949 Gene married Loraine Thiessen of Elkhorn, Neb.

He worked as a professional driver most of his life and always made time for his hunting and fishing. As an avid sportsman he enjoyed camping, horseback riding, gold mining and spending time with his family and friends. He will always be remembered for his humor and storytelling.

After retiring and raising his family in the Sierra foothills, he and his wife moved to Brookings, where they lived for eight years. He enjoyed the ocean and its vast fishing opportunities but also the friendships that were established. Due to his cancer diagnosis in December 2008, he and his wife moved back to Auburn.

He is a sustaining member of the National Rifle Association, Veterans of Foreign Wars, Solano Horseman’s Association, Western Greyhound Union 1225, and Greyhound Retirees Club.

Survivors include his wife Lorraine Kelly of Auburn; son David Kelly of Brookings; daughter Dee Ann Sutrov of Auburn; sister Karen Warrick and her husband Donnie of Omaha, Neb.; brother Michael Kelly and his wife Gayle of Lincoln, Neb.; grandchildren Gary Mills Jr., of Auburn and Julie Lopez and her husband Charles of Marysville, Calif. Also surviving are five great-grandchildren.

Gene was preceded in death by his father Garold S. Kelly; mother Vada Ackerman-Kelly; stepmother Orpha Kelly; sister Sharen Ray Kelly; brothers Richard Kelly and Robert Kelly.

He will be missed by all his family and friends. He requested no funeral service be held and that his ashes be scattered over the Pacific Ocean.

A poem follows that has been written by Lorraine:

God saw that Gene was getting tired,

And a cure was not  to be…

So He put His arm around Gene and

Whispered “Come along with me.”

With tearful eyes I  watched Gene suffer

and saw him fade away:

A golden heart stopped beating, a determined

spirit was at rest.

Gene’s generosity, friendliness and honesty proved to God that he had passed the test,

and so, God took another “best.”