Richard Kelly, a longtime medical center employee who humbly played a crucial role as an administrator of one of UNMC’s most impactful benefactors, died Jan. 15 at age 75.
Kelly was one of three trustees of the Charles R. O’Malley Charitable Lead Trust. Kyle Meyer, PhD, dean of the College of Allied Health Professions, credits the growth fueled by the O’Malley Trust’s support as instrumental to allied health’s transition to college status.
See this UNMC Today story for more on the O’Malley Trust’s impact on the College of Allied Health Professions at UNMC.
"We first got involved with UNMC because of Kelly," said his cousin and fellow trustee Brian O’Malley, during a 2017 visit to UNMC. "He provided the leadership that brought us here. This is his community."
Kelly was the "guru" and "go-to" of the nuclear medicine department, said longtime allied health faculty member James Temme, who started as Kelly’s student and mentee, at the beginning of what would become a 50-year friendship.
Kelly wore the same shoes and drove the same truck for years. He was a decorated combat medic, but never mentioned it, Temme said. He didn’t have kids, but reveled in extended family.
Services
Richard Kelly’s memorial service is set for noon tomorrow, Saturday, Jan. 22, at Heafey Hoffmann Dworak Cutler West Center Chapel, visitation starting at 10:30 a.m. Interment at Holy Sepulchre Cemetery with military funeral honors. Memorial donations may be made to Alzheimer’s research at UNMC, care of the University of Nebraska Foundation.
With his intellect, humility and heart, Kelly was perfect for the role of trustee.
"He took that as a huge responsibility," Temme said. "And in talking to him, he said it wasn’t as easy as you might think. He got into the details, he was a good administrator."
Kelly’s "Uncle Chuck" had hopped a freight train to the East Coast as a teenager during the Depression and lived a colorful life before tasking his trustees with finding a good home for much of his fortune.
The O’Malley Trust in 2010 endowed the Charles R. O’Malley Chair for Radiation Science Technology Education at UNMC, with Temme as its inaugural chair. But the relationship was only beginning.
The final tally included six named, endowed faculty positions, the first ever in allied health, and six named, endowed scholarship funds. Most were driven by a matching model that invited other benefactors to double their money, thanks to the O’Malley Trust.
"I wanted to do something for allied health," Kelly once said, "and I got the chance to do it, so I thought I should."
Dr. Meyer recounted, "We held several events over the years to acknowledge the significant contributions of Mr. Kelly and the other trustees. Richard approached each one of these with his trademark humility and unassuming nature. He was always far more comfortable celebrating the successes of our faculty and students than he was with us acknowledging his contributions.
"He was a true friend of the CAHP and took great pride in the CAHP. He considered it an honor to have contributed to the creation of our college … and he did indeed."
Rest in peace, Kelly
To Jim Temme, our condolences for the loss of your friend Richard Kelly. So grateful that you were part of our lives! Karen & Mark Stiles
What an incredible legacy! Thanks so much to the O’Malley Trust for truly making a difference at UNMC. My condolences to Richard’s family and friends.