KEVIN KELLEY

KELLEY KEVIN J. KELLEY Kevin J. Kelley, an engineer/attorney who was a pioneer in the field of wireless communication, passed away April 1, 2017 at age 80. He lived with Alzheimer's disease for the last 10 years of his life. Kelley was widely known and well regarded in the cellular telephone industry as the Chief of the Federal Communications Commission's (FCC) Mobile Services Division at the dawn of the cell phone revolution in the mid-1980s. He guided the rule-making for allocation of valuable radio licenses that created what has become one of the largest industries in the world. Despite his groundbreaking work at the FCC, Kelley is best remembered by colleagues and industry associates for his time at QUALCOMM, Inc., where he opened and led the Washington, DC office for over 15 years. Kelley's career as an engineer/attorney would have been difficult to predict as the second child of seven growing up in western Massachusetts during the waning years of the great depression. Kelley was born in Northampton, Massachusetts in 1936 to Maurice and Katherine Kelley. After grad-uating from Hadley High School in 1954, Kelley joined the Marine Corps - which he later reflected was the best decision he ever made. Kelley spent the next three years in the Corps working on radio systems for the military which set in motion his future wireless engineering career. Kelley went on to earn a BSEE (Summa Cum Laude) from UMASS and an MSEE from USC and that launched his engineering career further with roles at NASA and later DARPA. Kelley then attended law school University of San Diego (USD) earning a JD and then passing the bar exam in 1976. He moved to Washington D.C. to join the FCC's Mobile Services Division and became the wireless division Chief. In 1990, he joined QUALCOMM and ran their DC office until his retirement in 2004. Kelley was first married in 1960 to Merelyn Daniels and with her had three children: Mark, Peter and Nathan. They divorced in 1975, and in 1983 he married Lee Enos with whom he had a son, William. Kelley retired in 2004 and went immediately to work as a volunteer and later the Board at the Field School in Washington, DC. During retirement, Kelley and his wife Lee divided time between their homes in DC and Del Mar, CA. He enjoyed traveling, long-distance running, bicycling, woodworking, and gardening. He also cherished time spent with his extended family. In addition to his wife Lee, he is survived by sons Mark (Jenifer Geier) of San Diego, CA; Peter, of Los Angeles, CA and New York City, NY; Nathan (Lara Chapman) of Arlington, VA; William of Rockville, MD and eight grandchildren. He is also survived by siblings, Nancy Barrows-Jipson, Peter Kelley, Paul Kelley and Catherine Fredette. Despite his accomplishments, Kelley downplayed his contributions with his lifelong motto - "it's amazing what you can accomplish in life it you don't care about getting the credit" Memorial service will be held at The Field School, 2301 Foxhall Rd., NW, Washington, DC on May 20, 2017 at 1PM with reception to follow.Memorial service will be held at The Field School, 2301 Foxhall Rd., NW, Washington, DC on May 20, 2017 at 1PM with reception to follow.