Mike Kelley

Michael Francis Kelley passed away suddenly in his sleep on July 11, 2018, in Waco, Texas, at age 67. A service will be held 3:00 p.m., Thursday, July 19, at Wilkirson-Hatch-Bailey Funeral Home. Mike was born in Tulsa, Oklahoma, on September 13, 1950. He graduated from Memorial High School in Houston in 1968. Thereafter, he attended Baylor University. After college, Mike became a partner in a local business, “The Continental Club” in the late ‘70s, prior to opening “Kelley’s,” a successful nightclub on Lake Air Drive. In the ‘90s, Mike joined Sysco Foods and, subsequently Ben E. Keith Foods, where his love for people and humorous conversation unsurprisingly resulted in numerous sales awards. Family was the most important thing to Mike. He will always be remembered for his gentle, kind, patient, and thoughtful love for others and his unending ability to bring joy to his many friends. Mike never met a stranger and greeted everyone with a smile on his face, which preceded an always present great wit and sense of humor. His happiness was caring for others. He truly was one of the most humble human beings. Mike was predeceased by his father, John F. Kelley, on February 29, 2012. Mike will be missed greatly by his wife of 38 years, Toni; their two children, Ginger Boyd and husband, Darren, and Lindsey Palumbo and husband, Michael; and their grandchildren. Grace, Lillie, and Race. He is survived by his mother, Marjorie; four sisters, Cecile Perich and husband, Wes, Mary Peterson and husband, Mike, Jean Ann Blattler and husband, Ed, and Kathleen Bilinski and husband, Pete; two brothers, John and wife, Susan, and Charles and wife, Maria; and eighteen nieces and nephews. His special friends include Sammy and Delonda Citrano, Hack and Cathy Branch, Terri and David Shipley, Teri Crooker, Roger Williams, and Dan Henderson. The family invites you to leave a message or memory in our “Tribute Wall” at www.WHBfamily.com.