John Andrew "Jack" Kelly (November 30, 1943 – June 28, 1978) was an American investigative journalist in Boston, Massachusetts, and he was one of the victims of the Blackfriars Massacre.

Early life

Kelly was born in the

Drexel Hill Drexel Hill is a neighborhood and census-designated place (CDP) located in Upper Darby, Pennsylvania. The population was 29,181 at the 2020 census, up from 28,043 at the 2010 census, and accounting for over a third of Upper Darby's population. G ...

suburb of Philadelphia to Francis G. Kelly (1901–1966) and Rose M. (née Lally) Kelly (1908–1973). His sister Kathleen was born in 1946. Francis Kelly was a salesman for Corn Products, which led the family to move to Manchester, New Hampshire in 1949. In 1952, the family settled in

Brighton, Massachusetts Brighton is a Municipal annexation in the United States, former town and current Neighborhoods in Boston, neighborhood of Boston, Massachusetts, United States, located in the northwestern corner of the city. It is named after the English city of ...

and his father continued to work for Corn Products in South Boston. In Brighton, Kelly attende
St. Columbkille School
where he was inspired to write ''"The Sisters and the Kids'', a humorous story about parochial school life, published in 1973 in '' The Boston Globe Magazine'' in 1973.

Military service

After graduating St. Columbkille School, Kelly joined the U.S. Air Force and left for basic training at Lackland AFB, on July 1, 1961, aged 17. After, he was deployed to what was then

Formosa Taiwan, officially the Republic of China (ROC), is an island country located in East Asia. The main island of Taiwan, formerly known in the Western political circles, press and literature as Formosa, makes up 99% of the land area of the territorie ...

, where he started his radio career in Armed Forces Radio. After returning to the United States he was stationed in Maryland. Upon his

honorable discharge A military discharge is given when a member of the armed forces is released from their obligation to serve. Each country's military has different types of discharge. They are generally based on whether the persons completed their training and th ...

from the US Air Force, he took a job with Metropolitan Life Insurance and married Michele Larichiuta in 1964.

Career

In 1967, the family moved to Brighton, Massachusetts, where he worked for

Ross Laboratories Abbott Laboratories is an American multinational medical devices and health care company with headquarters in Abbott Park, Illinois, United States. The company was founded by Chicago physician Wallace Calvin Abbott in 1888 to formulate known d ...

. In 1968, he joined WCAS (AM) as a reporter and producer of documentaries. In 1969, while working for WEZE, Kelly won an area wide reputation for hard hitting investigative reporting, including the first story on Senator Edward Kennedy's involvement in the Chappaquiddick incident three hours before any other station in the country had the story. In 1970, he joined

WBZ (AM) WBZ (1030 AM) is a Class A clear channel radio station licensed to Boston, Massachusetts. Originally started by, and formerly owned for most of its existence by, Westinghouse Broadcasting and its successor CBS Radio, WBZ is owned and operate ...

News, where he significantly contributed as investigative reporter for several years, earning awards for excellence in reporting from United Press International. Kelly joined

WNAC-TV WNAC-TV (channel 64), branded on-air as Fox Providence, is a television station in Providence, Rhode Island, United States, affiliated with Fox and The CW. It is owned by Mission Broadcasting, which maintains a local marketing agreement (LMA) ...

in 1974 as an investigative reporter.

Death

John Kelly died in the Blackfriars Massacre in 1978, aged 34. He was survived by his wife, four children, and one sister.

References

External links