My wife and I spoke with Lois this morning about services for Bill. Bill's remains will be (or have been) cremated and Lois is planning to have a service at the end of February or the first part of March. I'm sure that others on this list will be in touch with Lois, but as I learn more information I'll let y'all know. Teddi and I will be driving to Arizona for the service and a car pool may be possible if anyone else is planning to go. Lois didn't ask me to pass this on, but she told me that their experiences with SLAS and the friends that they made here in Utah were most cherished. I let her know that those of us who knew Bill have been swapping stories and that he is well remembered. Kim
I posted a brief obit on CN last week, and they removed it as being "off-topic"! They've allowed obits in the past, but for some reason they wouldn't let Bill's stay. Bill was easily the equal (or superior) of any other deceased ATMer mentioned there. The mods there seem to have not enough of consequence to do (it's Oklahoma, after all...). Now I'm beginning to remember why I quit using it years ago when it started.
Chuck, here's the information that Lois sent to me yesterday. I would have forwarded the email to this list, but the following was in the form of a Word document attached to the email and I know the list filters wouldn't have allowed it. I hope Lois sent this to folks in Ohio who knew Bill. As she writes, Bill was truly a renaissance man. I often felt like a moron next to him. Kim Lois sent the following: William Edward Kelley, Jr. William "Bill" Kelley was born July13, 1917 in Elyria, Ohio and graduated from Elyria High School in 1936. He died February 8, 2011 at the Verde Valley Medical Center in Cottonwood, Arizona. He resided in Cottonwood for 16 years. He served in World War II in the 57th Signal Battalion in the Army in North Africa, Italy, France, Germany and Austria. As a child he built crystal radio sets. In 1947 he received his Amateur Radio Operator License: W 8 A A E (William 8 Adam and Eve). He was a marine biologist who wrote several technical papers. He served as first director of the Cleveland Aquarium from 1954 to 1964. During that time he was also Associate Director of the Cleveland Museum of Natural History. He became a Fellow of the Gemological Association of Great Britain in order to work with the extensive gem collection at the museum. He was the developer of the artificial seawater "Instant Ocean" that is used in public aquariums, university laboratories and home aquariums. In 1964 he founded and was President of Aquarium Systems which sold "Instant Ocean". He was founding President of Niagara Falls Aquarium. While there he led an exhibition up the Amazon River to bring back dolphins for the aquarium. In 1973 he was founding President of Mystic Aquarium in Connecticut and was Trustee Emeritus until his passing. During that time he was on the Board and a Chairman of the Eastern Connecticut State University Foundation. He pursued his hobby of Astronomy from age 10 building his own telescope from salvaged parts in Elyria. He was the author of several articles on astronomy appearing in Sky & Telescope and other publications. He was a member of the Salt Lake Astronomical Society for many years enjoying the meetings as well as public and private star parties. He gave presentations on telescope making at the Riverside Telescope Makers Convention in California. He was a member of the Astronomers of Verde Valley where he participated in meetings and star parties for the public. He taught numerous classes on telescope making over the years. He continued to build telescopes until three years ago. His most recent creation was the OmniScope which could be used as a telescope, microscope and for viewing in between those ranges. He was a member and past officer of the Mingus Gem and Mineral Society. As a member he identified gemstones at no charge as part of the yearly March Mingus Gem and Mineral Show each year since 1995. He was President of Opals, Inc. which had opal mining interests in Virgin Valley, Nevada. He devised a system to keep the opals from Crazing and cracking. This mine produced the famed Royal Peacock opal. He was described by many as a true renaissance man. Ever the scientist, he was fascinated by the whole universe. His interest in gems and minerals took in the earth. His interest in marine life took in the oceans and his interest in astronomy took in the sky. Bill clung to life and lived it fully for his 93 years. He always had a zest for life and never let his mind stop coning up with new ideas. He was a man of many talents. He not only had an interest in marine biology, gemstones and astronomy, but also music (he began playing the organ at age 91), tennis, skiing, food, wine, coffee, chocolate and making friends. He had a winning smile and a great curiosity. He was ever the teacher. He is survived by his wife of 22 years Lois, brother Carl Kelley of Ohio, sister Jean Klembeck of California and several nieces and nephews including Tom Kelley, James (Adrienne), Paul Klembeck, Judith Smith, Richard (Dianne) Brunenschenkel and Cry (Steve) Droze. He was pre deceased by his first wife Ruth (Hollis), sister Edith and brother James. A Memorial Service will be held at the Mountain View United Methodist Church, 901 South 12th Street, Cottonwood, AZ 86326 at 2:00 pm on February 26, 2011, followed by a Celebration of Life with refreshments at the church's reception hall. Arrangements for burial with Honors to be held at the Prescott Veterans Cemetery on February 28th at 2:00 pm were made by Bueler's Funeral Home, Cottonwood, AZ. In lieu of flowers, please make donations payable to the Fleishman Foundation, PO Box 1680, Cottonwood, AZ 86326. The Fleishman Foundation has been making donations to deserving students in the Verde Valley since 2006. Bill and I became a board members in 2005. One of the student recipients cared for him while he was in the hospital. It is a tax deductible organization.
Thanks Kim. Bill and I never met face-to-face, but spent many, many hours talking on the phone over the years. One of the greatest compliments I ever received was when he told me that my "Weightless" mount was a true innovation in ATMing.
Chuck, was your weightless mount the genesis of Bill's BKD device? Do you have pics of your system? The concept as conceived or maybe re-conceived by Bill really does make large alt-az/Dobsonian mounts much more usable. I remember being able to steer some very heavy classic Dobsonians (with large square mirror box and tube attached, such as the 22-inch that Brent Watson used to own) with very little effort after the modification. I modified my own 10-inch, but with later changes did away with the BKD-type lifter and simply re-positioned the nylon bearings to make it smoother. If you can't steer your scope with one finger it might be too "heavy." I think Bill's greatest contribution was simply in being a great friend and teacher. Kim -----Original Message----- From: utah-astronomy-bounces@mailman.xmission.com [mailto:utah-astronomy-bounces@mailman.xmission.com] On Behalf Of Chuck Hards Sent: Thursday, February 17, 2011 1:04 PM To: Utah Astronomy Subject: Re: [Utah-astronomy] Bill Kelley Thanks Kim. Bill and I never met face-to-face, but spent many, many hours talking on the phone over the years. One of the greatest compliments I ever received was when he told me that my "Weightless" mount was a true innovation in ATMing. _______________________________________________ Utah-Astronomy mailing list Utah-Astronomy@mailman.xmission.com http://mailman.xmission.com/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/utah-astronomy Visit the Photo Gallery: http://www.slas.us/gallery2/main.php Visit the Wiki: http://www.utahastronomy.com ----- No virus found in this message. Checked by AVG - www.avg.com Version: 10.0.1204 / Virus Database: 1435/3449 - Release Date: 02/17/11
Kim, the BKD preceeded my weightless mount and they are not related. My Weightless mount was featured in Sky and Telescope about eleven years ago and is for refractors and Cassegrains, not Newts. Bill saw it in S&T and called me. I like Bill's original BKD in that it was adjustable. Having one-finger pushability is good on large scopes if there is no wind blowing at all, but otherwise you need a little more friction. On 2/17/11, Kim Hyatt <kimharch@cut.net> wrote:
Chuck, was your weightless mount the genesis of Bill's BKD device? Do you have pics of your system? The concept as conceived or maybe re-conceived by Bill really does make large alt-az/Dobsonian mounts much more usable. I remember being able to steer some very heavy classic Dobsonians (with large square mirror box and tube attached, such as the 22-inch that Brent Watson used to own) with very little effort after the modification. I modified my own 10-inch, but with later changes did away with the BKD-type lifter and simply re-positioned the nylon bearings to make it smoother. If you can't steer your scope with one finger it might be too "heavy."
I think Bill's greatest contribution was simply in being a great friend and teacher.
Chuck, like Bill's other ideas, he didn't try to patent the BKD but just shared with others who could use it. Like you, my friend. I'm trying to remember your weightless mount but I can't picture it. I couldn't store all of my back issues of S&T so I can't look it up. The big advantage of Bill's idea over simply moving the bearings on a Dob was that you could indeed adjust it on the spot if it was windy or if other conditions changed and you wanted more or less friction. For awhile an acquaintance of Bill's from Arizona (I think) even manufactured and sold the BKD commercially. Kim -----Original Message----- From: utah-astronomy-bounces@mailman.xmission.com [mailto:utah-astronomy-bounces@mailman.xmission.com] On Behalf Of Chuck Hards Sent: Thursday, February 17, 2011 1:49 PM To: Utah Astronomy Subject: Re: [Utah-astronomy] Bill Kelley Kim, the BKD preceeded my weightless mount and they are not related. My Weightless mount was featured in Sky and Telescope about eleven years ago and is for refractors and Cassegrains, not Newts. Bill saw it in S&T and called me. I like Bill's original BKD in that it was adjustable. Having one-finger pushability is good on large scopes if there is no wind blowing at all, but otherwise you need a little more friction.
I still get one or two emails per year from folks who have built the weightless mount. A good feeling. :o) On 2/17/11, Kim Hyatt <kimharch@cut.net> wrote:
Chuck, like Bill's other ideas, he didn't try to patent the BKD but just shared with others who could use it. Like you, my friend.
The 20" Bernson and I built was Bill's initial inspiration for the BKD, it made it easy to match the friction on the altitude and azimuth. It made a big difference although you could over do it and make it wobbly.
Chuck, like Bill's other ideas, he didn't try to patent the BKD but just
shared with others who could use it. Like you, my friend. I'm trying to remember your weightless mount but I can't picture it. I couldn't store all of my back issues of S&T so I can't look it up. The big advantage of Bill's idea over simply moving the bearings on a Dob was that you could indeed adjust it on the spot if it was windy or if other conditions changed and you wanted more or less friction. For awhile an acquaintance of Bill's from Arizona (I think) even manufactured and sold the BKD commercially.
Kim
-----Original Message----- From: utah-astronomy-bounces@mailman.xmission.com [mailto:utah-astronomy-bounces@mailman.xmission.com] On Behalf Of Chuck Hards Sent: Thursday, February 17, 2011 1:49 PM To: Utah Astronomy Subject: Re: [Utah-astronomy] Bill Kelley
Kim, the BKD preceeded my weightless mount and they are not related. My Weightless mount was featured in Sky and Telescope about eleven years ago and is for refractors and Cassegrains, not Newts. Bill saw it in S&T and called me.
I like Bill's original BKD in that it was adjustable. Having one-finger pushability is good on large scopes if there is no wind blowing at all, but otherwise you need a little more friction.
_______________________________________________ Utah-Astronomy mailing list Utah-Astronomy@mailman.xmission.com http://mailman.xmission.com/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/utah-astronomy Visit the Photo Gallery: http://www.slas.us/gallery2/main.php Visit the Wiki: http://www.utahastronomy.com
participants (3)
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Chuck Hards -
erikhansen＠thebluezone.net -
Kim Hyatt