Catching up with Salisbury graduate Don Kelly
What is your full name?
Donald James Kelly
When did you graduate from Salisbury?
1983
Tell us about your life since high school.
I attended Shippensburg University graduating in 1987 with a BSBA. I worked in various IT roles at Dun & Bradstreet, Heyco, Scott Specialty Gases, Just Born Candies and I currently work as a Project Manager in the IT group at Victaulic.
I got married in 1989 to my beautiful wife Jill (Heimbach), who is from Bethlehem, but I met at Shippensburg. She has worked for Aetna for over 30 years. In 1991 we moved from Salisbury to Whitehall. We have been blessed with two awesome daughters. Morgan, 28, graduated from West Chester University and is currently a 3rd Grade Teacher at Steckel Elementary School in Whitehall. Our second daughter, Madison, 24, also graduated from West Chester University and currently does Tax Accounting for RSM.
I played Tri-County baseball with several SHS alum for a few years after graduating. I moved on to play slow pitch softball, which I still enjoy playing. I like to golf when there is time as well. I helped coach several girl’s’ softball teams over the years. I have been a member of the Whitehall Township Fire Department for over 24 years and am currently the Assistant Chief at the West Catasauqua Station.
Tell us about your involvement in the Frank Yelinko Memorial Golf Tournament.
Frank passed away in February of 2000 and Terry German approached a few of us about running a golf tournament to raise funds for the Frank Yelinko Scholarship. I am on the committee that has kept the golf tournament running for over 20 years. Unfortunately, we had to cancel the 21st Annual event this year because of the pandemic, however we will be back next year. The event will be on Saturday May 8th at Iron Lakes Country Club. This scholarship provides one male, and one female, $1,000 a year for up to four years.
In addition to helping fund the scholarship, the golf outing is a great chance to get together with other alumni and catch up on what everyone else is up to. Each year we get a new face or two and always have a great time. If you would like to play, information will be posted on the Salisbury Township School District social media pages next year.
What was your favorite high school memory?
There were many great memories like beating Southern Lehigh in football my senior year to capture the Old Helmet Trophy, having “Beach Night” for the FS gang who cheered together at basketball games, winning the Colonial League baseball championship my senior year and all the “social” gatherings we had over the years. I made many friends and still get together with several of them for dinners and picnics.
How has the pandemic impacted you and what have you learned from it?
It has been nice for my family in that we have spent so much time together. We have eaten more meals together in three months than in the past several years. We play games, go for walks and just enjoy hanging out. It also has slowed the pace of life because there was nowhere really to go. No reason to rush here or rush there which has been a nice change.
What are your summer plans?
Growing up my family always vacationed on Long Beach Island, it became a summer tradition. While we lost both my parents, my siblings and I still bring our families down to LBI for a summer vacation together. Between the five of us we have 12 children who are now bringing down husbands, fiancés, girlfriends and boyfriends. This year we expect 28 in attendance. It is always the highlight of the summer.
How is your family doing?
Unfortunately, we lost my dad (Fire Chief Kelly) in 2009 and my mom Connie in 2011. As for my siblings, Anne is married with two daughters (Kelly and Katie) and she lives in Owings Mills, MD. My brother John is married and has a daughter (Erin) and a son (Matthew) and lives in the same neighborhood as me in Whitehall. Pat is married and has two boys (Brendan and Benjamin) and lives in Manassas Park, VA. Marie is married to Bob Grejda, SHS alum, and has two daughters (Abby and Maggie) and two sons (Nick and Alex). They reside in Fairport, NY.
If you could meet anyone (alive or dead), who would you choose and why?
Neil Armstrong – It would be awesome to talk to the first man to ever step on the moon. It would be interesting to talk to him about what it was like during liftoff, orbiting around the moon, seeing earth from thousands of miles away, re-entering the earth’s atmosphere and landing in the middle of the ocean. How did he feel when he left in the Lunar Module for the moon, was he worried about not getting back to the main ship? What was it like stepping on the moon and walking around on the surface? I think it would be so interesting to hear all that and more from a true pioneer.
Who is your role model and why?
My parents are my role models. My mom worked to help put my dad through college after he got out of the Air Force. After he went to work at Western Electric, she focused on raising five kids. She sacrificed a lot to make sure we always had what we needed. We always had clean clothes on our backs and food in our stomachs. She cooked dinner 7 nights a week, even when we went on vacation. She always provided for us. She also battled three types of cancer and was one of the toughest people I ever met. Through it all she never complained.
My dad taught me so much growing up and in my adult years. My dad taught me about pride, from making sure my baseball uniform was worn correctly, to the way he ran his fire company. With the help of the crew, he always made sure the trucks were shining, clean and well organized. We won numerous trophies over the years at parades and that was something to be proud of. He also taught me a lot about leadership. He spent 33 years at Western Electric / AT&T and was well respected by those he led. One Christmas morning he went into work to thank the guys who had to be there to keep the plant running. It was all about the team. He was the Fire Chief for 36 years and helped develop a great fire department. He always led by example and was a great teacher. I have taken so much of that into the station I am at now.
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