Kelly, Ethel C. (Ethel Cross), 1917-2012
Biographical Note
The son of Hugh Powell and Clara Bartlett Kelly, Hugh Powell Kelly, Jr. (1916-1989) grew up in Richmond, Virginia, and received his bachelors and masters degrees in electrical engineering from Virginia Polytechnic Institute in 1937 and 1938. He went on to work for the Richmond telephone company, where he met Ethel E. Cross (1917-2012), the daughter of Ethel Mae Cumber and Davis Sydney Cross. They married on September 18, 1941.
Later that year, Kelly was selected to work for Bell Labs in New York before moving to corporate headquarters in New Jersey. He remained at the company, and in 1960, he was placed in charge of developing the Trans Atlantic Cable. His efficiency and good work persuaded the French government to buy into the Telstar proposal, later recognizing Kelly's efforts with a prestigious award when the Telstar link between the United States and France was completed in 1962. Telstar made world-wide telephone service possible and allowed communications industries such as cable television and international electronic data transfers to take off.
After retiring from ATT in 1979, Kelly remained active in the field, working to develop a computer for handicapped users.
Ethel Kelly continued to celebrate her husband's legacy, establishing the Hugh P. and Ethel C. Kelly Professorship of Electrical and Computer Engineering at Virginia Tech in 1999. She was inducted into Virginia Tech's Ut Prosim Society in honor of her generosity and devotion to the college.
External sources:
"Hugh P. Kelly", Academy of Engineering Excellence, Virginia Tech, https://eng.vt.edu/about/distinguished-alumni/academy-of-engineering-excellence/hugh-p-kelly.html, accessed June 5, 2024.
"Hugh Powell Kelly" in the Virginia, U.S., Marriage Records, 1936-2014, Ancestry.com, https://www.ancestrylibrary.com/discoveryui-content/view/11682576:9279, accessed June 5, 2024.
"Hugh Powell Kelly Jr.", Findagrave.com, https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/35685032/hugh-powell-kelly, accessed June 5, 2024.
Ethel Cross Kelly obituary, Bennett Funeral Homes, January 5, 2012, https://www.bennettfuneralhomes.com/obituary/1358410, accessed June 5, 2024.
"Ethel Edmonia 'Dee' Cross Kelly", Findagrave.com, https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/178165146/ethel_edmonia_kelly, accessed June 5, 2024.
Found in 1 Collection or Record:
Hugh P. and Ethel C. Kelly Collection
This collection contains materials related to Hugh P. and Ethel C. Kelly, including a scrapbook, portrait, Telstar artifact, and a medal. Hugh P. Kelly earned a bachelor's and master's degree in engineering from Virginia Tech in 1937 and 1938. He worked on the Telstar project in the 1960s, and Mrs. Kelly later established the Hugh P. and Ethel C. Kelly Professorship in the VT College of Engineering.