Michael Joseph Kelly, Jr.; Son, Brother, Cousin, Nephew, Uncle, Husband, Father, Grandfather, Friend, Marine, Sheet Metal Worker, Auto Mechanic, Carpenter, Painter, Plumber, Neighbor, Teacher and Protector. He was handsome, confident, warm, unselfish, loving, dependable hard working and so, so much more. Michael was a man who never knew a stranger, never avoided helping his fellow man and never missed an opportunity to help a child, no matter their age. He loved his family fully and unconditionally without exception, no matter how mad we made him sometimes. He was devoted, to his loving wife Betty, who he missed so terribly, until he drew his last breath, and to his boys Sean and Jason as well as his grandsons Jake and Luke who were the lights of his life. Michael had a strong sense of right and wrong and never hesitated to tell you which side of that fence you were on. He was opinionated, you never wondered what he was thinking, he was all too glad to tell you and the funny thing was, you always wanted to hear it, because you valued his wisdom and guidance…and….he could always support his opinions with one of his many entertaining life stories. His family, friends and neighbors could always count in him to have their backs. When you needed him, he was always there. He was there; driving you to the doctor, making sure your furnace worked, hand crafting you a counter top, hanging your curtains, waving his jacket to save you from a bull, punching that boyfriend who mistreated you, taking you to prom when your date didn’t show up, stealing his brothers’ girlfriends (without trying) and fixing your car in time for you to make the birth of your first child. He was there; when the neighborhood kids needed a place to hang, as long as they knew they couldn’t smoke, they could do that outside, or come in and hang out – not both. He was there; to read you a book, make a tent, watch you play ball, scare you with ghost stories and give you your first puppy. He was there; to “drive so, so, so fast, Mikey”, just to hear you laugh. He was there; to teach you how to change the oil in a car – even if you were 4 years old and had little pink finger nails, and he got such a kick out of how those nails looked when they were full of grease. And he was so happy to be teaching the little ones especially, to do all the things their mothers would love, like making faces, picking their noses and laughing at funny words like “butt”. He was able to accomplish anything he put his mind to – and – he was there; to make sure you knew you could do the same. He is surely glad to be back with his beautiful wife Betty, as in life they were never apart. He joins his parents, his mother and father in law, his baby sister and God Child Barbara Sue and his beloved Granny Duckett who is surely feeding him right now. We will miss him all of our days, as those days will be darker without him. We must do all in our power to go on according to the lessons he taught us and do our best to live our lives in a manner that would have made him proud. Some will say they cannot imagine never seeing him again, but remember, all we have to do is close our eyes and think of him and we will see that smiling face. He will be with us forever, in this world and the next.