Grady Kelley, Jr.
| Grady Lehman Kelley, Jr. | |
| In office 1949 – 1964 | |
| Succeeded by | John Honeycutt |
|---|---|
| In office 1984 – July 14, 1991 | |
| Preceded by | Marshall T. Cappel |
| Succeeded by | Tommy Hollingsworth (acting) William Earl Hilton |
| Born | July 6, 1922 Alexandria, Louisiana |
| Died | July 14, 1991 (aged 69) Houston, Texas |
| Resting place | Greenwood Cemetery in Pineville |
| Nationality | Irish-American |
| Political party | Democrat |
| Spouse(s) | (1) Aimee Blanchard Kelley, later Aimee Matherne (married 1947, divorced)
(2) Willie Mae "Dee" Deville Kelley (married 1973-1991, his death) |
| Children | Patrick Kelley Marion Kelley Satcher |
| Alma mater | University of Louisiana at Lafayette |
Military Service
| |
| Service/branch | United States Army Air Forces |
| Rank | Airman aboard a bomber Shot down over Germany |
| Battles/wars | European Theater of Operations of World War II |
Grady Lehman Kelley, Jr. (July 6, 1922 – July 14, 1991),[1] was the sheriff of Rapides Parish, Louisiana, from 1949 to 1963 and again from 1984 until his death in 1991.
He was the son of former Sheriff Grady Kelley, Sr. (1891-1949), and the former Sabina Garvey (1900-1988), a native of Ireland. In 1947, he wed the former Aimee Blanchard, who after their divorce became Aimee Matherne. From the first marriage, he had two children, Patrick Kelley and Marion Satcher. In 1973, he married the former Willie Mae "Dee" Deville (1926-1999).[1]
Kelley was educated at the University of Louisiana at Lafayette, then known as Southwestern Louisiana Institute, and Louisiana State University in Baton Rouge. He left LSU during World War II to serve in the United States Army Air Forces. As an airman aboard a bomber in the European theater of operations, he was shot down over Germany and was for eighteen months a prisoner of war. After his first fourteen years as sheriff, he was removed from the position upon conviction for malfeasance. He subsequently worked as a correctional officer at Louisiana State Penitentiary at Angola in West Feliciana Parish and in various positions with the Cenla Community Action Committee in his native Alexandria before beginning his political comeback in 1983 for his last seven years in office. In the early 1950s, he served for two terms as as president of the Louisiana Sheriffs Association.[2]
He died at St. Luke's Medical Center in Houston, Texas.[3]
Kelley's sister, Mary Ann Kelley Brame (1933-2026), was married to the Alexandria businessman Scott Overton Brame (1928-2019), for whose family an Alexandria junior high school is named.[4] Scott Brame, Sheriff Kelley's brother-in-law, retired in 1993 with forty-three years of service as the chief executive officer of the Central Louisiana Electric Company (founded in 1906 and since renamed Cleco Corporate Holdings LLC). CLECO honored him in 2010 by renaming the power station in Boyce in northern Rapides Parish as the Brame Energy Center. Brame also established the Scott O. Brame/CLECO endowed chair in Finance at Louisiana State University - Alexandria.[5]
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 Grady Lehman Kelley, Jr.. Findagrave.com. Retrieved on April 30, 2020.
- ↑ Kelley, Grady L., Jr.. A Dictionary of Louisiana Biography. Retrieved on April 30, 2020.
- ↑ Alexandria Town Talk, July 15, 1991.
- ↑ Mary Ann Kelley Brame obituary. Alexandria Town Talk (January 27, 2026).
- ↑ Scott Brame obituary. Alexandria Town Talk (April 3, 2019). Retrieved on January 28, 2026.