Jack H. Kelley

Jack H. Kelley, 86, of Elizabethtown, passed away peacefully at home, surrounded by his family on Tuesday, September 25, 2018.  Born in Harford, AL, he was the son of the late Roy and Jessie (Brewer) Kelley. He will be lovingly missed by his wife of nearly 30 years, Joan (Driscoll) Kelley and family.

Jack graduated from Samford University in Alabama in 1955 with a bachelor’s degree in sociology. He participated in college student preaching activities throughout the state. He served two “half-time” churches in Alabama, 1954-1956. He was a man of strong Christian faith, and went on to study at Southern Seminary in Louisville, Kentucky from 1956-1964, becoming a southern Baptist minister. He started numerous churches in Philadelphia and New Jersey, and while in Seminary, served four full time churches in Kentucky and Indiana. Jack moved to Pennsylvania in 1964 to serve as a volunteer. He was a church planter on the Home Mission Board (SBC) in Pennsylvania and New Jersey, and then served many of these churches as interim pastor. While in Seminary, Jack sold insurance policies and over time became a Senior V.P. at Preferred Risk Insurance Company, developing policies and programs for churches. In 1997 he retired and moved back to Pennsylvania. In his free time, he enjoyed traveling with his wife Joan. She will fondly remember how he made her coffee every morning, and kept her smiling every day. He was a loving man who lived out Micah 6:8 –“… what doth the Lord require of thee, but to do justly, and to love mercy, and to walk humbly with thy God?”

In addition to his wife, he is survived by three children: Walter Kelley & wife Sherree of AL, Emily Morris & husband Chris of TX, and Lisa Shenk & husband Scott of Mount Joy; five grandchildren: Walter & Abby Morris, Brian Shenk, and Aria & Joshua Hess; three siblings: Yvonne Riley & husband Horrace, Judy Childree & husband Bill, and Van Kelley & wife Peggy; numerous nieces & nephews, and Jo Colvin, the mother of Walter and Emily. He was preceded in death by a daughter, Leanne Hess, and siblings Dr. Page H. Kelley, Sara Beth Poe, and Charles H. Kelley.

A Memorial Service will be held at 10AM on Saturday, October 6, 2018 at the Sell Chapel of Masonic Village with the Rev. Richard Vaughn officiating & also participating, Timothy A. Nickel, Masonic Village Hospice Chaplain. There will be no visitation prior to the service. Burial will follow at Cedar Run Baptist Church Cemetery, in Cedar Run, PA. Arrangements have been entrusted to Miller-Finkenbinder Funeral Home & Crematory, 130 N. Market St., Elizabethtown. 717-367-1543

In lieu of flowers, memorial donations may be made to Masonic Village Hospice, 1 Masonic Drive, Elizabethtown, PA 17022.

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