Walter Avery "Walt" Kelley 1931-2011
He joined the Navy in August of 1949 and was designated a “sharpshooter” after his marksmanship became evident. He said his shooting skills came from the “Wyoming Cowboy” deep within, and he ended up serving in the Korean War as a gunner aboard the USS DeHaven DD-727. During leave on December 21, 1950, he married his cherished high school sweetheart Betty Felicijan, then returned to finish his tour of duty for our country until May of 1953. The war had deeply troubled him after experiencing so much death and destruction and losing too many close friends. He did not want to discuss the devastating events; instead, he chose to focus on the positive things that arose from every aspect of his life. After the military, he lived in married-student housing at Pullman, where he received his degree in Education from Washington State University (GO COUGS) and also welcomed 3 sons into the world. Upon completion, he accepted what he believed to be a temporary job as the Tonasket Vo-Ag instructor and FFA advisor and enjoyed great relationships with students, faculty and parents. Very soon after his arrival in Tonasket (1957), he lost his first born son to cancer. To his amazement, the Tonasket community rallied to support his family through this tragic time. That touched him so deeply that he fell in love with the people that helped them so much, and they made Tonasket their permanent home. He never looked back nor regretted that decision for the next 54 years. His desire for agriculture led to a purchase of his first orchard in 1963. Although it had been severely neglected, he found the silver lining: With some long hours, hard work, and perseverance, he would turn it into a successful operation and eventually expand to three additional orchards. A few years into the purchase, he made a decision to leave his teaching position for a job with HR Spinner Company as a field man for local producers. This lasted only 1 year as he found it would be sacrificing too much quality time with his family, so he went back to teach as a 6th grade teacher. By 1965, he had added another son and daughter to his family and continued teaching for 19 more years. He dearly loved the challenge to teach children at that level, and developed a lifelong relationship with many students as their “Mr. Holland’s Opus” inspiration. He knew what education brought to his life and viewed teaching as an opportunity to give back to society that for which he was so grateful. He liked the teaching/farming role, as it gave him time to spend with his family camping, fishing, hunting, and boating. He was a great role model in teaching his own kids that anything was possible and they could do the fun things…but “after” they got the work done!The farm provided the environment for the work and left lifetime memories, values, and an uncanny desire to pursue a higher education in lieu of such hard work! He retired (again) from his teaching role in 1986 and became a full time orchardist, farming cherries, apples, and pears. After cutting back to one job he felt that he had so much extra time that he pursued many hobbies and expanded his talents. The North County Car Club and OK Car Club were added to his activities, which fit right in with his interest of tinkering with cars. In fact, he completely rebuilt a ‘50 Chevy (which he conveniently named as “Betty’s Car” so she wouldn’t be quite as upset over what he spent to do this). He really enjoyed his travels as a “snowbird” to Hemet, California and developed so many dear friends. While away, he spent countless hours painting, golfing, writing poetry, participated in theatrical plays, and the occasional world travel when time and budget allowed. He especially enjoyed the proximity of his brother and sister nearby. He loved them dearly and had missed their presence while living full time in Tonasket all those years. He did this through 2006 until his health made it impractical to travel that far from home. He embraced the Catholic Church, becoming a convert in his teens. He later confessed that it was Betty that really converted him, since he loved her enough to follow her lead. After settling in Tonasket, he dedicated nearly 54 years helping the Tonasket congregation with its needs. He also believed that all denominations were avenues to everlasting life. He shared a secret later in his life that if it wasn’t for his wife, he could not have made the impact he did. She was always at his side to love him, nourish him, help him, cheer him, heal him, and yes sometimes scold him! She was the strong one that seemed to made all bad things disappear. Because of her unconditional love he knew he was truly blessed. He really enjoyed his time with “the boys”, hunting, fishing, and card playing in his earlier years, but mostly card playing in later years as age set in. He was anxious to play cards again with good friends Ken Smith and John Utzinger that left this earth ahead of him! He promised to save a seat at the table for the rest of “the boys”, but warned “bring plenty of pennies because eternity is a long time!” His life changed suddenly in 1999 when he was diagnosed with Mantle Cell Lymphoma and given less than a 2 year prognosis of survival. His loving bride said “no way”, and together they embarked on a very long process to prove beyond a reasonable doubt that there is always hope, no matter how dire the situation. Throughout this journey, he discovered so many new friends and found how well a positive attitude can heal and nurture. During the latter part of this path, he encountered a near-death experience. This account was later published in the local paper and called “Modern Day Lazarus”, relating how he saw what awaited him. This excited him, strengthened his faith, and gave him further inspiration to take time to mentor and nurture others in need along the way and to no longer fear death. He became an e-mail fan (as many of you know) and connected to even more people. He loved to give updates through this process and maintained his role of teacher by continually grading his health. He made the grade most of the time with even an occasional A+. However, those that know him best knew of his passionate desire for F’s. That is, his simple philosophy of life is that there are only 3 important things in life and they are all F’s---FAITH---FAMILY---FRIENDS. He made it nearly 12 years on this journey, rarely losing his positive attitude and never losing his faith. Last month, as the journey became increasingly difficult, he confided to his family that it was time to say goodbye, and enlisted Hospice to make his final days more peaceful for himself and Betty. He also chose to donate his body to science for the betterment of society. He is survived by his loving wife of 60 years Betty, son Dan (grandchildren Kris and Lindsay) of Gulf Port, Mississippi, son Jim spouse Lynne (grandchildren Ryan and Ashlyn) of Kennewick, son Dave spouse Teria (grandchildren Jeremy, Taylor, Tammy, Brenda, and Rick) of East Wenatchee, daughter Katie spouse Kimmo Nissinen (grandchild Seija) of Seattle, sister Laura of Clovis, California, brother Jerry of Riverside California, 6 great grandchildren and numerous nieces and nephews. He was preceded in death by his son Michael, parents Elmo and Winnie, and stepmother Helen. The family invites you to please visit the web site of Bergh Funeral Service to sign the on-line guest book and share your thoughts if desired under “recent obituaries” for Walt Kelley. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to or American Cancer Society at their 24/7 line 1-800-227-2345
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Walter (Walt) Avery Kelley, 80, of Tonasket, Washington, died peacefully at his home on
November 21, 2011 under Hospice care. He was born on February 6, 1931 in Worland,
Wyoming to Elmo James and Winnie Pearl Kelley. As a youngster, he wanted to be a cowboy
and spent considerable time shooting “varmints”. He developed a very close relationship with
his siblings at an early age after his mother passed away during the birth of his younger brother.
His interests also included fishing in the summer and ice skating in the winter. He was raised in Wyoming until 1946, when the family moved to Sunnyside Washington. He finished High School in Sunnyside (class of 1949) and met his best friend for life, Elizabeth (Betty) Felicijan.