Thomas James Kelly's Obituary
Thomas (“T.J. or Tom”) James Kelly was born on January 17th, 1937, in Kiltimagh, County Mayo, Ireland to Thomas James and Katie Carroll. Tom passed away on Sunday, August 21, 2022, at the age of 85. Tom was the fifth of nine children. His father died when he was six years of age. At the age of 18, he left Kiltimagh to serve 2 years in the Irish Army before moving to England and then emigrating to Jersey City, NJ in 1958, where 5 of his siblings lived. After arriving in the United States, Tom immediately became involved in Irish activities. He was a charter member of the Bergen Irish American Association in Bergen County, NJ. He played Gaelic Football with The Elizabeth Gaels and Mayo Football Club in New York. Handball, however, was his first love and he was well known for this talent and skill throughout the mid-Atlantic area. He was a regular member of the New York-New Jersey Handball League.
After arriving in the United States, Tom decided to get a high school education to expand his opportunities. He enrolled in Dickson High School in Jersey City. After four years of night school, he graduated valedictorian of his class and received a scholarship to Pace University in New York. While working full time, he pursued his studies and graduated in four years with a Bachelor of Business Administration, holding a Major in Accounting.
Tom met the love of his life, Eileen Murphy, at an Irish dance in the Catskills Mountains in New York. The couple married on October 15, 1966. They lived in North Arlington, New Jersey where Tom commuted to Manhattan for his job at Republic Financial Services – a Dallas based insurance company, where he began working in 1960. They had two children, T.J., and Maureen Catherine. In 1975, Tom was offered the opportunity to move to Dallas to head up the company’s centralized computer department. The Kelly family relocated to Dallas with the intention of staying two years. They had hopes of returning to the familiar roots of the New York metro area. However, after two years, they decided they enjoyed all that the Dallas lifestyle had to offer.
The family settled in Richardson, Texas where they raised their kids. Shortly after Tom’s retirement, the couple moved to Plano, TX in 1997. Tom worked for Republic Financial for 34 years.
After their move to Dallas, Tom and Eileen became active members of the Irish American Society, where they established life-long friendships. In 1999 Tom was selected as Irish Person of the Year by the Irish American Society and was also a past Deputy Marshall of the Downtown Dallas St. Patrick’s Day Parade.
As a strong father figure, he attended his kids’ extracurricular and sporting activities. These included the many swim meets held across the State and Nation for his son, T.J. He supported his daughter, Maureen, in her sporting events and cheered her on as she participated in Ireland’s Rose of Tralee. One of the biggest joys of his life was when he became “Papa Tom,” grandfather to Clare and Cameron Kelly.
Most of all, Tom will be remembered for his quick Irish wit and groan-inducing one liners. His goal in any conversation was to see if he could get the other person to laugh.
Tom Kelly was preceded in death by his father, Thomas James Kelly, his mother Katie Carroll, his brother Joe Kelly and his sister Kathleen Walsh. He is survived by his wife of almost 56 years, Eileen Murphy Kelly; son T.J. Kelly and wife Aerin Kelly of Littleton, CO; daughter Maureen Cooper and husband Alan Cooper of Dallas, TX; his sisters Anne Kelly of Lyndhurst, NJ, Mae O’Donnell of Philadelphia, PA, Rosaleen Smith of Cootehill, Ireland and Teresa Forde of London, England; his brothers Paddy Kelly of Wood-Ridge, NJ and Father Richard Kelly of Maynooth, Ireland; his granddaughter, Clare Kelly and grandson, Cameron Kelly both of Littleton, Colorado; and 34 nieces and nephews.
In lieu of flowers, the family requests donations to be made to the Alzheimer’s Association www.act.alz.org and/or the Senior Source www.theseniorsource.org.
Service
Friday, September 2, 2022
10:00 am
St. Monica Catholic Church
9933 Midway Road
Dallas, TX 75220
Funeral arrangements for Mr. Thomas Kelly have been faithfully entrusted to Restland Funeral Home and Cemetery, which is located at 13005 Greenville Ave., at the intersection of Restland Road, Dallas, Texas 75243, and can be reached at (972) 238-7111.
What’s your fondest memory of Thomas?
What’s a lesson you learned from Thomas?
Share a story where Thomas' kindness touched your heart.
Describe a day with Thomas you’ll never forget.
How did Thomas make you smile?