Howard Kelly's Obituary
Howard Douglas Kelly, Jr., 72, of Flint Hill, VA passed away Thursday, January 11, 2024, at Culpeper Hospital. He was born July 6, 1951, to the late Howard Douglas Kelly, Sr. and Marjorie Claire Ackerman Kelly in Utica, New York.
Howard is survived by his partner, Beth Plentovich; children, Katie Kelly of Tempe, Arizona and Sean Kelly of Hampton, VA; grandson, Bryan Finn Kelly; and sister, Leslie Kelly.
Howie worked as a structural engineer at the Atlantic Division, Naval Facilities Engineering Command for over 30 years and specialized in the design and repair of waterfront structures, often implementing bespoke and innovative solutions to the most intricate problems. Howie was passionate about improving the life for the sailors who worked on the waterfront and was recognized, inside and outside of the Navy, for his expertise. He mentored the current generation of waterfront engineers and is still making an impact on the Navy through his teachings. Howie dutifully served the US Navy and is remembered by his colleagues as a dedicated mentor and for his extensive list of engineering achievements.
Howie was a dedicated single father to two young children and spent many of his evenings coaching both baseball and soccer. He also spent ample time creating interesting and engaging environments to foster their intellectual growth through engineering, science, cooking, and music. The latter was a particular passion of his evidenced by his impressive multi-instrumentalism over several brass and stringed instruments, most famously his six- and twelve-stringed guitars.
His love of music ran throughout the entirety of his life having grown up during the transformative music scene in New York in the 1960s and 1970s. He had the privilege of setting up stage and sound equipment for Woodstock and was in the company of and inspired by some of history’s greatest musicians.
Howie was an avid outdoorsman and invested significant amounts of his time studying wildlife and astronomy, and he loved sharing this knowledge with anyone around him that would lend an ear. From comets to cardinals, he could tell you details about niche parts of nature and the cosmos seldom even told by National Geographic.
Following his retirement from NAVFAC, Howie and Beth found tranquil repose in the heart of Virginia in their mountainside home accompanied by several beloved dogs and cats. When he wasn’t chopping wood to heat their home, going on long walks with their sweet old pups, or tending to their garden, he could be found working with the community theatre in Rappahannock County. Howie used his extensive musical background to manage the sound design for many theatrical productions over the years, which was a quiet passion of his. He and Beth worked in concert with each other for 18 years, and their relationship can only be described as warm and beautiful to anyone that was privileged enough to experience it.
Howie spent his life trying and doing all that he could from serving in the nation’s oldest inn, the Beekman Arms, building log homes, mining coal in West Virginia, playing soccer, canoeing whitewater rapids in a topcoat and tails, playing and creating music, mastering the finer points of mini golf, caring for dozens of pets, raising two unique and grateful children, and most of all sharing his love with everyone that he surrounded himself with. Howie was a Renaissance man with a dedication to lifelong learning and a drive to improve the lives of everyone around him. He was a unique individual and one who will be sorely missed and celebrated by the thousands of lives that he touched throughout his life.
A Celebration of Life will be open to Howie’s friends and family which will take place on the 15th of June in the Outer Banks of North Carolina, where he loved to spend a significant amount of his rest and relaxation time.
Donations to Howie’s memory may be made to the National Wildlife Federation in Reston, VA.
An online guestbook and tribute wall are available at www.foundandsons.com
Found and Sons Funeral Chapel of Culpeper is serving the family.
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