Born September 5, 1923, and raised in
Rutherford, New Jersey, Kelly played prep football at
St. Mary High School; after moving with his family to
Somerdale in
South Jersey, his son boarded with a relative in order to attend and play football at his father's alma mater. Kelly started his career as a police officer in Rutherford in 1951 rising to the rank of Lieutenant before becoming a
US Marshall in 1958 eventually becoming the deputy in charge of South Jersey. In 1961, he was named as an undersheriff for
Camden County and served as the director of the Camden County Sheriff's Department in the mid-1970s. Elected to the State Senate for a single term as a
Republican, Kelly served as vice chairman of the Law and Public Safety Committee and played a role in the adoption of
wiretapping laws. After leaving office he founded a
private detective agency in
Somerdale. He worked as director of public safety in
Gloucester Township from 1976 to 1978, and as director of security for the Camden County Health Complex in
Lakeland beginning in 1979. He also served as director of security and safety for Camden County from 1980 to 1987. Starting in 1968 Kelly served on the board of the
Kennedy Health Systems and served as chairman of the
Atlantic City Expressway Commission. In 1996 he was appointed to the
South Jersey Port Corporation's board, serving on it until his death. In this capacity he advocated for further merger between South Jersey and
Philadelphia's ports. Kelly died at his home in
Gloucester Township, New Jersey, on April 15, 1999, at the age of 75 due to
prostate cancer. ==Personal life==