John H Kelley

Rutland

John H. Kelley

John Henry Kelley, 85, of Rutland died Tuesday, November 28, 2023 at Rutland Regional Medical Center.

He was born in Rutland October 29, 1938 the son of John Henry Sr. and Mary Agnes (Gaynor) Kelley.

He attended Castleton Teacher’s College where he met and went on to marry his friend and “love of his life”, Cecilia (Allison) Kelley. They were married for 54  years before she predeceased him in 2014.

John is survived by their three children, Lynda of Rutland and Washington, D. C., David of Dorset, VT and Mark and his wife Diana of Rutland Town, two grandchildren, Calvin and Grace of Rutland Town.

His surviving siblings include a sister, Mary Visi of Rutland, a brother Jim of Rutland.

John was predeceased by his wife, his brother, Tom of Rutland and his sister, Catherine (Wheeler) of Schaghticoke, NY along with two brothers-in-law, Bob Wheeler of Schaghticoke, NY and Bill Visi of Rutland.

John and Cecilia enjoyed spending time with each other. Together, they completed the “251 Club” in Vermont visiting all 251 towns in Vermont.

They also enjoyed making and selling crafts. They could be spotted at local craft fairs throughout the State of Vermont at any time of the year, but especially before Christmas time.

John was a dedicated educator for 33 years. Early in his career, he taught at an Air Force Base in Bangor, Maine. Upon moving back to Vermont, John taught in different School districts before ultimately settling back in Rutland.

Here he served as both principal and teacher at St. Peter’s School.

Before retiring from the Rutland Public Schools System, he spent many years at Southeast School as a 5th grade teacher. John was actively involved in coaching basketball at many of the schools where he taught. Southeast School was no different.

While teaching at Southeast, he particularly enjoyed the opportunity to coach his son (Mark’s) C.Y.O. basketball team- Christ the King, while his wife Cecilia would cut up oranges to prepare bagged orange slices for each player at half time. John and Cecilia were a “team” in life.

John was respected by his students as both a science teacher and a basketball coach.

As a well liked Rutland City teacher, it was not uncommon for him to be recognized in public wherever he went by his former students and their parents.

A funeral service will be held on Saturday, December 9th, 2023 at 1:00PM at Christ The King Church.  Arrangements are under the direction of Clifford Funeral Home.