Harold Kelly, 87
On Friday morning, January 28, 2022, just three days after his 87th birthday, Harold Kelly passed away peacefully at Rock County Hospital Long Term Care in Bassett, NE. On Thursday evening, his wife and close family members were with him or had talked to him via facetime on the phone. Services will be held in June 2022. Arrangements are entrusted to Biglin’s Mortuary of O’Neill, NE.
Harold Leslie Kelly was born near Crawford, NE, on January 25, 1935, to Albert and Ethel (Rimmers) Kelly. He was the 5th of 10 children growing up in the Chadron-Crawford Nebraska area. Harold was a member of the National Guard during the Korean Conflict in 1952 and continued to serve in the Guards within the Chadron area for 10 years. He was a member of the American Legion for 41 years.
On January 8, 1954 he married Rosalie Booth from Gordon, NE. The couple had 6 children: Alan “Mike,” Rodney, Curtis, Crystal, Cynthia, and Tracy. The Kelly family lived in the Scottsbluff area, around Gordon, O’Neill, Spencer, and Page, NE, and Cutbank, MT. Many stories have been told about their experiences in the different places they lived. The couple met many people over the years with many becoming good friends.
Harold was a man of many talents. He worked as a Diesel Mechanic and an Airplane Mechanic, eventually getting his pilot’s license. He drove semi for many years, hauling crude oil, cattle, oversized loads, grains, watermelons, onions, and other produce across the country. In 1983, Harold retired from trucking and moved to Colorado where he worked with his brother, Bernard, for a couple years. He later worked on an Arabian Horse ranch and at Paul Weaver Farms until Harold and Rosalie decided to move back to Nebraska in the early 90s. Harold went to work on the Huffman-Carver Ranch near Hyannis in the sandhills. The couple eventually put down their final roots in Kilgore, NE, where Harold worked as a fabricator and machinist for Welker Welding until his retirement. You can still see some of the things he built being used today. But Harold never really retired completely, as he was always available to help someone out on their farm or home, or you would find him doing something in his own shop or yard. He really enjoyed teasing people, especially the girls. You had to look out if he got a dish towel in his hands. He was always ready to share his skills and knowledge with anyone who wanted to learn. Kilgore became the place they finally were able to call home and were blessed with the addition of the Lambs as part of their family and gaining many new close friends from the area.
In 2020, Harold and Rosalie moved to Cherry Hills Assisted Living in Valentine. Harold resided there until his move to the nursing home in Bassett the last few months of his life. Rosalie still resides at Cherry Hills.
Harold is survived by his wife Rosalie of Valentine; son, Curtis (Susan) Kelly of Broadwater, NE; daughters, Crystal (John) Geiman of Rapid City, SD; Tracy (Duane) Lamb of Valentine, NE; grandchildren, Carrie (Brandon) Tritsch, Tina (Travis) Sparks, Sean (Jazmin) Kelly, Joshua (Tonya) Kelly, Jessica Mutschelknaus, Julie Geiman, Brandon (Amy) Tschantre, Amanda (Jordan) Fischer, Cody (Katie) Tschantre, and Colten, Colby, Chelsie and Cayden Lamb; 10 great-grandchildren, with one in the oven; 1 greatgreat-grandchild, with another one in the oven; and many nieces, nephews and close friends.
Harold was preceded in death by his parents; children, Alan Kelly, Rodney Kelly and Cindy Kelly; siblings, Evelyn Wright, Earl Kelly, Dale Kelly, Patrick Kelly, Fred Kelly, Bernard Kelly, Darlene Kelly, Rosella Kelly, and Donie Kelly; nieces, nephews, sisters-in-law, and close friends.
Harold will be greatly missed but never forgotten. We will think of him often, especially when we see purple cows, spittoons, western shirts, biscuits and gravy, whiskey and coke, the smell of Old Spice and long, gray beards.