Gerry and Don Kelley Memorial Scholarship

Eligibility: All
Area of Interest: General

Criteria:

The recipient shall have a minimum 3.0 GPA.

Joseph Donald “Don” Kelley was originally from St. Paul, MN where his father was in the newspaper business. Don spent time in Washington State and Ft. Morgan where he graduated from High School. Prior to World War II he came to the Chadron area. During WWII, at age 37, he joined the Navy and served 3 years (1942 - 1945) on the USS Salt Lake City, a heavy cruiser, as a fire control (Gunnery) officer. After the war, he married Geraldine Coyle and was an auto parts salesman for Sidles-Chambers Co. He became manager of the Chadron NAPA auto parts store in the mid 1960's until retirement in 1976. In the immediate post war era, Don became friend with many veterans who returned and attended Chadron State College. He attended many sporting events with his family and received an award in the 1970's for Outstanding Eagle Booster. Both he and Geraldine enjoyed golfing. Don passed away in March 1981. Geraldine “Gerry” Margaret Coyle Kelley was a longtime resident of Chadron. Here parents who also lived in Chadron were originally from the Missouri Valley Iowa area. She attended CSC in the 1930's and taught country school for a short time after graduation. During World War II she lived in Southern California and then returned to Chadron where she worked at Fort Robinson. Gerry married Joseph Donald “Don” in 1946. In the 1960-70's she worked as a bookkeeper for Don when he managed the NAPA store. Gerry and Don raised three children, all who attended or graduated from CSC; Larry, Karen, and Jim. As an avid reader, Gerry served on the Chadron City Library Board and worked at the Assumption Academy School Library. She painted with acrylics and watercolors producing many fine works. In later years she enjoyed walking with friends at the CSC PAC center and attended many of the music and theatrical events on the CSC campus. She was the first lady to score a hole in 1 on hole #2 of the Ridgeview Golf Course (June 1979) Gerry passed away in February 2003.