Stanton Troy Kelley, Sr.

Mr. Stanton Troy Kelley, Sr. age 82 passed away Tuesday, March 26, 2013 at home, with his family at his side. He was born March 18, 1931 in Beaumont, TX, to Inez Smith Kelley and Valentine Stanton Kelley.
Mr. Kelley's family and friends are comforted by knowing he is with His Lord and rejoicing with family that went before him. He became a Christian at an early age at North End Baptist Church, Beaumont, Tx.
He is preceded in death by his parents, his brothers, Charles and Bill Kelley and grandparents: George and Mary Ella Kelley and Wesley and Stella Smith.
Survivors include his children: Troy Kelley, Jr. and spouse, Vikki of Lumberton, Judy Kelley, of Beaumont, Wesley Kelley, of Groves and friend Dina, Elizabeth Kelley and fiancé, Jeremy Hubbard, of Vidor. Grandchildren: Brandon Tunnell of Vidor and Melana Kelley of Lumberton. Sister: Margie Christopher and brother-in-law, Jerry Christopher of Lumberton.
Numerous nephews, nieces, cousins and extended family and friends and his beloved dog "BoBo".
After graduating from French High School, Troy went into the U.S. Army. He served in the Korean War from 1950 to 1954.
He retired from Bethlehem Steel after 35 years of service as a structural fitter. He was a member of the Woodmen of the World, the Boilermaker Union, and the American Legion Post #7.
Mr. Kelley was a loving, caring, supportive, generous, thoughtful, and devoted son, brother, father, grandfather, uncle, and friend. His devotion to his family encompassed prayer, hope, encouragement, sympathy and love.
He will be greatly missed by his family and host of friends.
A gathering of family and friends will be from 6:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. Thursday, March 28, 2013 at Claybar Funeral Home, 1155 N. 11th Street, Beaumont.
Funeral services will be Friday, March 29, 2013, at 2:00 p.m., in the Claybar Funeral Home Chapel with interment to follow at Claybar Haven of Rest Cemetery, U.S. Highway 90, Beaumont, Texas.


Stanton Troy Kelley
A Story of Love and Devotion

Troy was a true American through and through. He loved his country and fought for our freedom. After graduating from French High School, he went into the United States Army serving in the infantry division as a Sergeant in the Korean War from 1950 to 1954. God blessed him to come home to his family and he always gave God the credit for watching over him and his buddies. He came back a highly decorated Hero!

Troy went to work at Bethlehem Steel as a structural fitter for 35 years. He took great pride in his work. He enjoyed working with all of his friends and came home sharing stories about his job and friends. He always looked forward to the reunions they had after retirement at Mr. & Mrs. Cowart's home in Colmesneil, Texas. He loved to cook and always made a large peach or blackberry cobbler to take with him. Troy was a great cook and made the best meatloaf you could put in your mouth. He would put a couple of boiled eggs or carrots or a couple slices of baby Swiss cheese in the middle of it. It would come out perfect.

After coming home from the service God blessed Troy with four children and he raised them as a single parent. He instilled in them the values, morals, and the important things in life.

All little children held a special place in Troy's heart. When a little child came over he would always call them to him and take one of their little hands and kiss it, tell them he loved them and escorted them to the kitchen for a surprise. Yes, a piece of candy, a cold drink, or a cookie whatever he had on hand. His grandchildren and nephews and nieces especially looked forward to that.

He enjoyed the simple things of life that we so often take for granted, the trees, flowers, birds, and squirrels. He would sit on the front porch and watch them playing and scampering around in the yard. He had an amazing love for all God's creatures. He took great pride in raising doves as one of his hobbies. He had a special way with animals. Troy's dog BoBo came to his house one day lost and hungry. It seemed that he had been abused and afraid of everyone. It took a while, but Troy made friends with him and they became best friends until the end.

One pleasure he enjoyed was operating his lawn equipment. He had an Economy tractor that he wouldn't have traded for any other tractor. He enjoyed working on his tractors with his sons, Troy and Wesley and cousin Jerry Means. It pleased him and comforted him to get to ride his tractor in the last month of his life. He loved gardening with his son Troy and going for rides and running errands on Fridays. One of his pleasures was getting to cook with his daughters, Judy and Beth. He loved spending special times with his grandchildren, Brandon and Melana. His children and grandchildren were the pride and joy of his life.

Troy was known as Pop to his children and Pop Pop to his grandchildren, nieces and nephews and brother to his siblings and cousins. When he went shopping at H.E.B. the employees would always greet him as he entered the store as Pa Pa. He had a special way about him that drew people to him. He never passed up a chance to tell them he loved them.

Troy fought a long and courageous battle with cancer. He always had a positive attitude about his condition and life in general. He made a point to always tell his doctor at M.D. Anderson that even though there was no cure for him, that he hoped they would learn from his medical condition to help someone else.

Troy loved his family more than anything. One of his greatest and truest abilities was putting his family and friends needs above his own. Troy was a caregiver from an early age. He started helping take care of his little brother Bill who was older but handicapped with Cerebral Palsy and couldn't walk until he was around 7 or 8.

Troy along with his sister was Bill's caregiver until Bill's journey home to heaven at the age of 81. Once when they were very small his mother told him to hold Bill while she went to the bathroom. Bill could only crawl and would follow her everywhere she went. Brother was younger than Bill but he grabbed Bill around the waist while sitting on the floor and Bill began to wiggle around to get away. They both ended upside down on the floor when she returned, but brother didn't let got!!

He helped take care of his father during a lengthy illness, his mother until her home going at the age of 99. He looked in on the neighborhood widow women making sure they were okay. He mowed their yards, took in their mail and trash cans, went to the store for them when needed. He would do anything for the people he loved. No task was too big for him to handle and he would do it without a second thought. Troy's father always taught him and his brothers and sister that "if a task is worth doing, it was worth doing right!"

He will be greatly missed by his family and friends, but never forgotten!