Obituary

William Marshall “Bill” Kelley, Jr., age 87, of Charleston, WV, went home to be with his Savior on January 23, 2022. Bill was born in Charleston, WV, to the late William Marshall Kelley and Reba Runyon Kelley.

Bill was a 1954 graduate of Stonewall Jackson High School and a 60-year member of Calvary Baptist Church, where he served on the Trustee Board and produced the weekly radio broadcast of the Sunday worship service.

Bill started his career in TV production and broadcasting in 1954, with SCHS-TV when it first went on the air. He then went to work for WSAZ-TV in 1957, as a news photographer. In 1969, he was involved in putting WMUL-TV on the air, the first public television station in the Charleston/Huntington area. He worked as a producer/cinematographer and then became the Charleston Facility Manager. He covered many major news events during his career, which included the integration of schools, the massive 1961 Charleston flood, john F. Kennedy’s Presidential campaign, four Presidents, eight WV Governors and many sporting events during his 42 years in television broadcasting. He served as Executive Producer of Public Television Legislative Coverage until he retired in 1996. After retirement, he volunteered for many years at the WV State Archives’ audio/visual department, cataloging news film from the 1960s and ’70s. He was also part of the first class of inductees (2006) into the WV Broadcasting Hall of Fame, honoring his lifelong career in television broadcasting.

Along with his passion for news, Bill was also involved with the Kanawha Valley Soap Box Derby, starting as a young participant in the late 1940s, and then becoming one of the founders of the local derby track, built in 1969 at Little Creek Park in South Charleston, where he continued his participation for three decades.

Bill is survived by his wife of 65 years, Alice Anderson Kelley, son, William M. Kelley, III, (Allison) of Elk Grove, CA; daughter, Kari Smolder (Chris) of Charleston, WV; grandsons, Chad M. Kelley (Tatiana) of Lake Forest, CA, Justin Smolder of Nashville, TN, Daniel Smolder (Brooke) of Morgantown, WV; and two great-grandsons, Gavin and Husdon Kelley.

Memorial Service will be held at 12:00 p.m. Saturday, March 19, 2022, at Calvary Baptist Church, 510 Maryland Avenue, Charleston, WV.

Visitation will be one hour prior to the service, at the church.

In lieu of flowers, the family requests memorial donations may be mailed to West Virginia Public Broadcasting, 600 Capitol Street, Charleston, WV 25301.

Send condolences to the family at www.barlowbonsall.com.

Barlow Bonsall Funeral Home, Charleston, WV, has been entrusted to handle the arrangements.