William R. 'Bill' Kelly

William "Bill" Robert Kelly, 86, of Manchester passed away on Thursday, January 18, 2018. He was born to the late William and Anna (Binok) Kelly on November 5, 1931. He spent his life in Manchester attending local schools and graduated from Manchester High School in 1949. He proudly served in the US. Army from 1952-1954 during the Korean War. Bill was stationed in Germany and then Fort Myers in Virginia. He was a member of the honor guard, which escorted President Eisenhower to the White House after his inauguration. Bill was at the head of the parade during the march down Pennsylvania Avenue. Upon being honorably discharged from the Army, he had a lengthy career at Pratt & Whitney Aircraft retiring in 1990. He had a keen interest in sports. He was an avid UConn Huskies fan and he enjoyed; skiing, playing golf and basketball. Bill ran in the Manchester Road Race for many years. He spent many Saturday nights shooting pool with his best friend and brother-in-law, Steve Brighenti. Bill loved music and was and avid composer. He was well known for his singing in local bars and was invited along with his late close friend Buzzy Keeney to sing at local house parties. Bill was known as "Sonny" to his family. He was a loving son and brother and a doting uncle. He spent hours playing with and entertaining his many nieces and nephews, creating games and stories for them. They will remember him for so many things: going skiing or ice skating; teaching them to drive or play basketball; and playing music from his record collection. He was a long-time member of the Army & Navy Club in Manchester. He loved animals and took in some rescue cats throughout the years. Bill had a kind and generous heart and he assisted a disabled friend who was confined to a nursing home for many years. Bill resided at The Hearth in Glastonbury for the last 10 months. A special thanks goes out to the staff who cared for him, as well as the aides from The Home Aides LLC, who also provided care. He is survived by his 2 sisters, Marion (Kelly) Brewer of Colchester and Donna Kelly of Manchester, his sister-in-law, Jeannette (Caselli) Kelly of Manchester, his 2 brothers-in law; Steve Brighenti of Avon and Albert Gorman of Manchester and his many nieces and nephews. In addition to his parents Bill was pre-deceased by his 2 sisters; Arlene (Kelly) Brighenti and Alice (Kelly) Gorman and his brother Richard Kelly. Family and friends are welcome to attend a time of visitation at Holmes-Watkins Funeral Home, 400 Main St. in Manchester on Tuesday, January 23, 2018 from 6-8 pm. Funeral services will be on Wednesday, January 24th at 10:30 am at the funeral home followed by burial with full military honors in East Cemetery, Manchester. In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to the Sadie Mae Foundation - Animal Rescue League, PO Box 9323, Bolton, CT 06043 or to a charity of choice. To leave an online condolence, please visit www.holmeswatkins.com

Visitation DetailsTuesday, January 23rd, 2018 6:00pm - 8:00pm, Holmes-Watkins Funeral Home
Service DetailsWednesday, January 24th, 2018 10:30am, Holmes-Watkins Funeral Home
Interment DetailsTuesday, January 23rd, 2018 12:00pm, East Cemetery