After several years of serving in the U.S. Occupation Forces in Japan, Bill Kelly was ready to come home. He hadn’t planned to stay for long, but the fact that his brand-new bride was not allowed to join him overseas only escalated his eagerness to return stateside.
But when he did make it back home to Georgia, ready to start a family, he needed a job that was, well, rock solid.
So, in 1954, he joined the Elberton Granite Association as general manager. When he started his new job, the EGA had exactly one staff member: Bill Kelly.
In 1951, a handful of granite companies had come together and planned to promote granite manufacturing locally and nationally.
Under Kelly’s leadership, the EGA’s membership increased from 29 companies to 126. Its staff grew as well, from one employee to 13 — one of those 13 being Kelly’s wife, who served as the association’s bookkeeper. The Elberton Graniteer magazine was founded and its national circulation of over 13,000 made it the leading granite industry publication in the nation. Monuments and displays were established through Elberton, a fountain was erected downtown and the Elberton Granite Museum and Exhibit was commissioned and built.
With a population just under 5,000, Elberton is the largest city in Elbert County — a small province nestled along the northeast border of the state. With Kelly at the helm of the EGA, Elberton soon became known as the granite capital of the world.
William A. Kelly, 88, of Rome, died July 11 after complications from a blood disorder. A memorial service is planned for Sunday, July 27, 2014 at 3 p.m. at the Elberton First United Methodist Church.
“I think they considered him a community leader in Elberton for many, many years,” said his daughter, Janet Wiley. “In a small town there are only a few who are movers and shakers, and he was one of those.”
Kelly was always a powerful and respected man in his professional endeavours, but“he somehow managed to be a great family man as well,” Wiley said. “It looks like he would have had to work all the time to do all that he did, but he was a master of organization. I never remember him missing a family event.”
That level of organization and preparation made working for Kelly a rewarding challenge, said longtime friend and coworker Hudson Cone. But in the end, it was what really made Kelly stand apart.
“One of the great advantages of working for him was he left little to chance,” Cone said. “It was a very stimulating and impressive experience. He made me a better individual and and professional.”
In addition to his daughter Janet, Kelly is survived by his wife of 67 years, Frances Harris Kelly; daughter Fran Kelly Preiss of Rome; two grandsons, Lt. Cmdr. William Hayden Wiley of Virginia, and Walter Harris Wiley of Duluth; and three great-grandchildren, Grace Elizabeth Wiley and Claire Madelyn Wiley of Virginia, and Noah Fisher Wiley of Duluth. His sister, Mary Kelly Derby of Ohio, five nephews, and two nieces also survive.
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