“My only regret is that I wasn’t able to go to the moon myself. I would have loved to go. It was a great adventure.”
Thomas J. Kelly, Mepham Class of 1946, husband of Joan Tantum Kelly ‘48, father of 4 sons and a daughter, grandfather of 10, died of pulmonary fibrosis March 23, 2002. But there’s much more to the story.
Tom Kelly will be remembered by the Class of 1946 for his genial nature, his impish smile, playing the trumpet in the Jolly Rogers Band (photo left, on the top right), and his ability to “ace” all his tests. Tom Kelly will be remembered by historians as the “Father of the Lunar Module”.
After graduating (valedictorian) from Mepham, he went to Cornell with a full Grumman engineering scholarship and worked there summers. He joined their ranks as a propulsion engineer and stayed until his retirement in 1992, leaving only to serve in the Air Force where he performed the same job at Wright-Patterson AFB (1956 to 1958) and as a space propulsion engineer for Lockheed’s missiles and space division (‘58 and ‘59).
Returning to Grumman, he quickly began studying ways to get people to the moon. In his book Moon Lander, published by Smithsonian Institution Press (2001), he writes with fascinating detail about the process, its failures and successes, and vivid descriptions of the vast variety of people involved. It is a wonderful read, where one will discover that Tom retained his wit, charm, and amazing memory for facts. Buy it or borrow it, but READ it.
Tom will be remembered not only for putting the first man on the moon, but also for the part his team played as trouble shooters who got the Apollo 13 crew safely home. At Grumman he was in charge of more than 7,000 employees in designing and building the gangly-looking module that beat all the other competition for the task and, ultimately, proved to be so successful.
When Tom died, there were articles and editorials from all over the country. He lived to know much of the acclaim that was his due. Now open to the public in Garden City is the Cradle of Aviation Museum, which features a module on display. Tom was involved with discussions on that. In 1972 he received the National Aeronautics and Space Administration’s Distiguished Public Service Medal for his Apollo work and in 1991 was elected to the National Academy of Engineering. While he knew he had been nominated for the Spirit of St. Louis award from the ASME International, he did not live to know he was selected. Joan will accept it for him this November. In a 2001 Newsday poll on Long Islander of the Century in the category For Aviation, Tom came in third, after Leroy Grumman and Charles Lindbergh. In its 2000 Long Island: Our Past poll asked the favorite person from LI’s history. After Robert Moses, Theodore Roosevelt, and William Levitt, Tom tied for fourth with Charles Lindbergh. Not bad company for Tom’s place in history!
With all his success in his career, it must be added that he was much beloved by family and friends. A warm and loving companion to Joan, a loving, guiding, and playful father to his children, a cherished friend to many. Even as the toll of pulmonary fibrosis was taking its toll, he retained his sweet nature. As his children experienced: he taught them how to live with integrity and, ultimately, how to die with dignity.
Tom never forgot his roots on Long Island and his fond memories of Mepham. He was honored with Mepham’s Who’s Who Award in 1964 for Aeronautical Engineering. He was proud of Mepham, and we are justly proud of him!
Clare Eastwood Worthing ‘46
