Estel Wood "Ed" Kelley (1917–2003) is considered the "modern-day" founder of

Steak 'n Shake Steak 'n Shake Operations, Inc. (doing business as Steak 'n Shake) is an American casual restaurant chain concentrated primarily in the Midwestern United States with locations also in the South, Mid-Atlantic and Western United States, Europe, ...

, a chain of sit-down, old-fashioned style

restaurant A restaurant is a business that prepares and serves food and drinks to customers. Meals are generally served and eaten on the premises, but many restaurants also offer take-out and food delivery services. Restaurants vary greatly in appearan ...

s known for their Steakburgers and hand-dipped milkshakes. In 1981, E. W. Kelley & Associates, a group led by E. W. Kelley, bought controlling interest in

, and grew the company from a small chain to the more than 450 location chain it is today (2006). Originally from

Sharpsville, Indiana Sharpsville is a town in Liberty Township, Tipton County, in the U.S. state of Indiana. The community is part of the Kokomo, Indiana Metropolitan Statistical Area. As of the 2010 census, Sharpsville's population is 607. History The town was n ...

, Kelley attended

Indiana University Indiana University (IU) is a system of public universities in the U.S. state of Indiana. Campuses Indiana University has two core campuses, five regional campuses, and two regional centers under the administration of IUPUI. *Indiana Universit ...

's (IU) School of Business in the 1930s. While at IU, he founded the Accounting Club, chaired IU Sing, was president of the IU student body, and was a member of Sigma Chi

fraternity A fraternity (from Latin language, Latin ''wiktionary:frater, frater'': "brother (Christian), brother"; whence, "wiktionary:brotherhood, brotherhood") or fraternal organization is an organization, society, club (organization), club or fraternal ...

. He graduated in 1939. Kelley ran

Bird's Eye Birds Eye is an American international brand of frozen foods owned by Conagra Brands in the United States, by Nomad Foods in Europe, and Simplot in Australia. The former Birds Eye Company Ltd., originally named "Birdseye Seafood, Inc." had bee ...

, a division of General Foods, and thought up adding pearl onions to frozen peas. He later headed

Fairmont Foods Fairmont can refer to: Places Canada * Fairmont Hot Springs, British Columbia, a resort town ** Fairmont Mountain, a summit near Fairmont Hot Springs United States * Fairmont, Illinois * Fairmont, Minnesota * Fairmont, Missouri * Fairmont, ...

, where he helped develop the Klondike Bar, directed the roll-outs of

Tang Tang or TANG most often refers to: * Tang dynasty * Tang (drink mix) Tang or TANG may also refer to: Chinese states and dynasties * Jin (Chinese state) (11th century – 376 BC), a state during the Spring and Autumn period, called Tang (唐) b ...

and Cool Whip, created parts of the Lean Cuisine line, and brought Grey Poupon to

America The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

. He was founding partner of Kelley & Partners, Ltd. and taught at the

Columbia Business School Columbia Business School (CBS) is the business school of Columbia University, a Private university, private research university in New York City. Established in 1916, Columbia Business School is one of six Ivy League business schools and is one ...

. Kelley was always philanthropic, giving millions of dollars to IU and Howard Community Hospital, now known as Community Howard Regional Health, in

Kokomo, Indiana Kokomo ( ) is a city in Indiana and the county seat of Howard County, Indiana, United States. It is the principal city of the Kokomo, Indiana Metropolitan Statistical Area, which includes all of Howard County, the Kokomo-Peru CSA, which includ ...

. He donated to Indiana University-Kokomo, (IUK), for the Kelley Student Center, Kelley House, the library building and the E. W. Kelley Scholarship fund. He gave money in 1999 to establish the E. W. Kelley Chair in Business Administration at IU Bloomington, and $23 million to establish the IU Bloomington's Business School's Kelley Scholars program in 1997, which led IU to rename the School of Business to the Kelley School of Business. He also supported the Bloomington campus' Alumni center, School of Music, the Mellencamp Pavilion, and the Alva Prickett Chair in Accounting. E. W. Kelley maintained a home in Sharpsville until his death, and also a home in

Florida Florida is a state located in the Southeastern region of the United States. Florida is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the northwest by Alabama, to the north by Georgia, to the east by the Bahamas and Atlantic Ocean, and to ...

. He had turned the old family farm, located on

U.S. Route 31 U.S. Route 31 or U.S. Highway 31 (US 31) is a major north–south U.S. highway connecting southern Alabama to northern Michigan. Its southern terminus is at an intersection with US 90/ US 98 in Spanish Fort, Alabama. It ...

about 6 miles south of Kokomo, Indiana, into the Kelley Historical Agricultural Museum. Other family interests include Kelley Farms, which has since merged with Adler Seeds of Sharpsville, just across the road from the E. W. Kelley home. Kelley Farms was run by E. W.'s brother Bill Kelley, who also owned Shady Kennels and the former Red Carpet Motel outside of Sharpsville. Adler Seeds was founded by neighbor and friend Howard Adler. E. W. Kelley died on Friday, July 4, 2003, at the age of 86.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Kelley, E.W. 1917 births 2003 deaths American food industry business executives Indiana University alumni People from Tipton County, Indiana Philanthropists from Indiana 20th-century American philanthropists