Emmet P. Kelly, of Riverhead, died Oct. 15, 2013 at his Reeves Park home, surrounded by his family.
Born in Brooklyn on July 30, 1931, he was the son of Irish immigrants Michael and Nellie (Feely) Kelly.
Kelly was a retired New York City fireman and the father of fallen NYFD Lt. Thomas Kelly, who was killed in the World Trade Center collapse on Sept. 11, 2001.
A Korean War veteran, Kelly was an ensign in the U.S. Navy.
He met his future wife through his sister Maureen, who worked with the former Sue Kelly at Peck Memorial Hospital in Brooklyn. Maureen told her friend that her brother was in Korea and needed a penpal, and Sue wrote to him. They corresponded and when he returned from Korea “it was love at first sight,” said Kelly’s daughter, Jeannie.
The couple were married on July 13, 1957 at St. Gregory’s Church in Brooklyn, and eventually settled in Ozone Park, Queens, where they raised a family of four children.
Kelly was a firefighter with Ladder 142 in Ozone Park and a firefighter’s union delegate.
He was a baseball player in his youth, when he earned the nickname “Spider” as a shortstop. He was a huge Brooklyn Dodgers fan who became a Mets fan after the Dodgers moved to L.A. He enjoyed basketball, which he played and coached for many years.
Kelly was a devoted husband and father and a doting grandfather to his seven grandchildren, whom he adored.
“He was a legend in our family and a hero to many. He saved many lives” as a firefighter, his daughter said.
When tragedy struck on Sept. 11, taking the life of his youngest son, he was a pillar of strength for his family. “He was so strong for us. He got us through it, ” his daughter said. The career firefighter did what came naturally: “He carried us on his back,” she said.
Kelly loved the beach and the close-knit Reeves Park community where he and his wife began summering in 1964. They built their house overlooking the beach and moved to Reeves Park full-time in 1995.
He was happy to see the completion of the September 11 memorial park on Sound Avenue and Park Road/Lt. Thomas Kelly Memorial Drive.
“We’re blessed he lived to see that and was able to attend the first Sept. 11 service there last month,” his daughter said.
He is survived by his wife of 56 years, Sue, and their children: Bobby and his wife Eileen, of Oceanside; Jim and his wife Diane, of Massapequa; and Jean Marie and her husband Rich Farrell, of Island Park. He is also survived by his sister Maureen and by his grandchildren, Sean, of Freeport, Steven, of Oceanside, Patrick Farrell, of Brooklyn, Kevin Farrell, of Island Park, Cam, of Oceanside, Brian Farrell, of Island Park, and Melissa, of Massapequa. He was predeceased by his siblings Joseph, Jack and Peggy.
The family will receive visitors on Thursday, Oct. 17, 7-9 p.m. and on Friday, Oct. 18, 2-4 and 7-9 p.m. at Reginal H. Tuthill Funeral Home, 406 East Main St., Riverhead. A Mass of Christian Burial will be offered by Fr. Larry Duncklee on Saturday, Oct. 19 at 10:30 a.m. at St. John the Evangelist R.C. Church in Riverhead. Interment will follow at St. John’s Cemetery.
Memorial donations may be made to the September 11 Memorial Park at Reeves Park, c/o Sound Park Heights Inc., 110 Park Road, Riverhead, NY 11901.
