Lex Kenneth Kelley

Lex Kenneth Kelley, 89 years old, passed away on May 6, 2026. He was born in Pahokee, Florida, on February 3, 1937, to parents Leon Oswald and Ellen (Thigpen) Kelley.

He is survived by his loving wife, Jo Ann and their three children (Kimberly, Terri and Kenneth), nine grandchildren and five great grandchildren. He is also survived by his brother Ronald and sister Sandra and many nieces and nephews. He was pre-deceased by two brothers, Karl and Max and one sister who died in infancy, Mona Fay.

His father moved the family from Florida to the oil fields of Odessa, Texas when Lex was a toddler. He grew up in Stamford, Texas and graduated high school from Stamford High in 1955. He kept track of many good friends from Stamford and often attended his class reunions. After high school, he worked for a while in the oil fields of Odessa as a roughneck.

He joined the Army in February 1958 and served as a medic in the 82nd Airborne at Fort Bragg, NC. He was awarded the Parachutist Badge and Good Conduct Medal. He was honorably discharged in February 1960.

He attended North Texas State University (now UNT) in Denton, Texas where he met Jo Ann Godwin (who had a child from a previous marriage - Kimberly). They married November 6, 1961 and they had a daughter, Terri in 1962. He graduated in May, 1963 with a Bachelor of Arts in Business Education with a minor in Spanish. He also studied Latin, Greek, French, German and Italian.His love of the Spanish language led the young family to move to Mexico City, Mexico where he attended the University of the Americas with an emphasis in Spanish.

The young family moved back to Abilene, Texas in December 1965, then Denton, Texas in May 1966 where Jo Ann continued her education and Lex worked as a regional salesman for CRC-Crose. His son Kenneth (Jr) was born in 1969 and the family moved to Arlington, Texas in 1970.Lex's love of flying led him to obtain his single and twin engine pilot's certifications in the 1970's.

During his children's school years in Arlington, Lex worked in sales, as a real estate agent, in construction with his brother Ronald, and eventually as a professor of Spanish after being awarded his Master of Arts in Spanish from the University of Texas at Arlington in May 1988.

During his time at UT Arlington in the 1980's, he began voice lessons and sang tenor along with Pavarotti and other great operatic tenors - at the top of his lungs, in the house! Thankfully he had a good voice and sang on-key.

He never strayed far from languages and began to travel in the 1990's to immerse himself in the culture and language of other countries. He continued his studies in Spanish, French, Russian, and Japanese in various countries. The last language he was learning was Mandarin Chinese. Once he retired, he began mandolin and painting lessons at the local Community College.

Although he was a serious life-long student, he was quick to laugh and enjoyed spending time with his family and friends.