E.C. Kelley, retired South Anna Elementary principal, dies

Retired educator E.C. Kelley dies Former Hanover principal used sports to help youths grow

To the elementary school students he supervised, Hanover County principal Elwood Clyde Kelley "just looked like a giant.

"He was a real tall guy -- 6-foot-4," said his daughter, Brooke Conkle of Charlottesville. "He had played basketball at Richmond Professional Institute."

But his students never doubted his affection for them.

"He genuinely loved kids," Conkle said. "It was amazing that no matter how old Dad was he still was able to relate to 8and 9-year-olds. They thought he was the coolest thing ever.

"He was gregarious and funny. He was a disciplinarian. He was never late and was so completely responsible for everything. He really valued order, structure, getting things done. He liked to have a good time but never let having a good time get in the way of a child's education."

Mr. Kelley, who died of cancer March 6 at his Rockville home, was honored at a memorial service Saturday at South Anna Elementary School in Montpelier, where he retired in 1995. He was 69.

Influences on the career the Rockville native would choose included his mother, as well as several others in his family, all of whom were teachers, said his wife of 30 years, Patricia Quinley "Patty" Kelley.

"One of the main reasons he went into education was that he wanted to coach," Conkle said.

That chance came when he started a baseball team after he became principal of Montpelier Elementary School at age 25 in 1964.

"There really wasn't anything really like it," Conkle said. "He saw a need for an outlet for some of the kids. Their parents were farmers and they didn't have a lot of time to spend with their kids. He wanted to give young men an opportunity for development and growth through sports.

He began teaching at Short Pump Elementary School in Henrico County and then went to the Hanover County school system, teaching first at Beaverdam Elementary School and then at Montpelier, Gandy Elementary School and Elmont Elementary School before going to South Anna..

"He was so happy at South Anna," which serves the Rockville and Montpelier communities, Conkle said. "He knew all the families of the children -- the parents and grandparents. He loved the place where he grew up. He loved the idea of serving the people he'd grown up with."

In retirement, Mr. Kelley, who had received a bachelor's degree in education from RPI, now Virginia Commonwealth University, earned a master's degree in education at the University of Virginia and was in Charlottesville constantly, following U.Va. teams.

His wife and daughter are his only immediate survivors.