Celebration of Life Message for Dean Kelly

Obituary

Louis Dean Kelly, 87 of Washington, IN passed on to his heavenly home Saturday morning, May 16, 2026, at Deaconess Memorial Medical Center in Jasper.

Dean was born on August 10, 1938, to James and Ruth (Barber) Kelly. Born and raised in Washington, Dean was a member of the WHS Marching Band and graduated from Washington High School in 1956. On April 21, 1968, he married Ruth Jane (Pennington). They had 53 wonderful years together before her passing March 24, 2022.

Dean proudly served in the Indiana National Guard for 28 years. Dean was retired from the Washington City Light and Power. He was a member of Bethel Church of Washington. Dean was an avid outdoorsman. He enjoyed water skiing and caving when he was younger and spent many years hunting deer and wild turkeys. He recently enjoyed a hunting trip with his daughters to Missouri where he killed his 50th wild turkey.

Those left to cherish his memory and celebrate his life include: daughters and sons-in-law, Susan and Brandon Hess, Montgomery and Sherri and Ted Cline, Washington; grandsons, Garrett Hess (Mia Werner) and Bradley Hess (Brooklynn Evans); sister-in-law, Gail (Archie) Devore, Broken Arrow, OK; niece, Robyn Devore, Tulsa, OK.

He was preceded in death by his wife, Ruth and his parents, James & Ruth (Barber) Kelly.

Scripture: Psalm 23

Psalm 23 NIV

A psalm of David. 1 The Lord is my shepherd, I lack nothing. 2 He makes me lie down in green pastures, he leads me beside quiet waters, 3 he refreshes my soul. He guides me along the right paths for his name’s sake. 4 Even though I walk through the darkest valley, I will fear no evil, for you are with me; your rod and your staff, they comfort me. 5 You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies. You anoint my head with oil; my cup overflows. 6 Surely your goodness and love will follow me all the days of my life, and I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever.

Movement 1:

Dean was a grateful man who loved his people and loved the world God created. There are few scripture passages that can capture the adventure of being outdoors and caring for your animals and your land, and also hold the intimacy of a father's love, the way we find in Psalm 23. This is a song of gratitude from a sheep to his shepherd.

Although I never saw Dean trying to be the center of attention, he liked to be around other people. He enjoyed his time with friends and family. Growing up as an only child, he had to get out of the house to find other people. He made friends that became like family, and the family he married into when he married Ruth became very much his own. He spent a lot of time with his own family, especially his daughters, and he spent a lot of that time with them outdoors.

To him, the great outdoors was not an escape from something else. It was a place to go to, something to do, and often somewhere to take someone with. He loved hunting and fishing, but he really loved hunting and fishing with his daughters and his grandchildren. It was as if the excitement and adventure of doing those things multiplied when you got to share those adventures with others.

Movement 2:

God put a love of creation and other people into Dean, that he lived out his entire life at home, among his jobs, serving in the National Guard, and at church. I would like to say, in the past few years, he slowed down some, especially with some of the health issues he faced, but he was out mowing just a few weeks ago, and a few weeks before that, he was in Missouri, hunting his 50th turkey... something he had looked forward to doing with his family. I suppose his version of slowing down was watching the traffic and people go by from his front porch.

Dean was not always a well-behaved sheep, though. He had a mischievous nature that came out in pulling pranks on others, especially when he got around some of his National Guard friends. It came out in the surprises he gave in birthday and Christmas gifts, which were packaged in ways that hid their true contents. Many of those gifts became memories far more precious than the contents of the box.

Bluegrass music was his favorite to listen to, and I think it fit him because it is the music of the outdoors, of adventure, and of someone who doesn't sit still for long. Dean was always working on something or working toward something. He lived as if the good shepherd led and provided for him, and he tried to follow and share that with Ruth, with his girls, and with his grandkids. He shared the adventure, the life lessons, and the love, and he taught them to have fun while they were doing it.

Movement 3:

Dean and Ruth both instilled that ability to work hard, to enjoy life, and to care for God's people. Ruth contributed through her music and by helping with some of the ministries for kids. I did not get the pleasure of meeting Ruth, but I know she worked very hard to play piano well on Sunday mornings. Her daughters told me she practiced at home often, and Dean, in typical fashion, was there in the background letting her know every time she hit a wrong note.

Dean and Ruth served together with their girls as a family, and after Ruth's death, Dean stepped into the life of this church a little more visibly. Dean helped with the cemetery and church property and later became a trustee of the church. He served that position well. In his quiet nature, he had accumulated a wealth of knowledge over the years.

I remember trying to contact him during a routine property inspection. I was looking for a particular shutoff valve, and no one seemed to know where it was because it had never been an issue before. I also recall another time when several trustees were searching for a particular light switch and couldn't find it anywhere. Dean watched us hunt around for a few minutes, with no idea what we were doing, and then he pointed it right out to us.

There were times on Sunday mornings when I would ask Dean how he was doing, and he would respond, "Better than I deserve." I've heard that saying from a number of men in his generation, and Dean did more than just say those words. He lived like he believed them. It was the grace of God in four small words, empowered by a life that became a picture of it.

He and I became better friends over the last year or so when he underwent heart surgery, and I went to pray with him at the hospital. It was one of the first times that I saw a truly serious side of him. He worked hard to do the rehabilitation work after the surgery, and I did my best to encourage him and pray for him during that season. Bethel had a group of men doing similar rehab work, and they also encouraged him. He was never one to ask for prayers for himself on Sunday morning, but he was happy to receive them whenever they were offered.

Later, I asked him for prayers when I had some heart tests myself. At the time, I didn't know what I was in for. He told me how annoying those tests were and that he would be thinking of me. And once again, he was right. That was Dean. He would give you the truth in a few words and show you love in his actions.

I could tell he was doing much better when he started joking around with Bekah and me again on Sunday mornings, and his face lit up when he told me he was going to get to go Turkey hunting this year, since he had missed it the year before.

And when he got back from the trip, he was excited to tell me about it. How was it? He got one. Once again, it was "better than I deserve."

Movement 4

Dean was loved by friends and family alike throughout his life, some days perhaps "better than he deserved." He lived well and shared that life and love with those around him, and we are here to celebrate that life. But our hope is not in how he lived.

Our hope is in Dean's good shepherd, Jesus, who loved him more than any other. It is Jesus who led him out into the beauty of creation that nourished his soul. It was Jesus who guided his steps every day of his life, and finally led him through the valley of the shadow of death into the glorious light of the resurrection.

That resurrection is a bit of a mystery to us left on this side of life. But look at the end of Psalm 23. What begins with a shepherd in a field, ends with that sheep adopted, brought home, and treated like a child of the king... treated "better than he deserves." The small blessings we receive in this broken world cannot compare to the outpouring of love and grace that awaits us in our home with Jesus. It is like the presents Dean left you, giving you the impression of one thing, but often so much better when you finally get to open them and experience them yourself.

Today we feel the sadness, the grief, the loss. That pain is real because our love shared with Dean was real. That pain may linger, but our hope in Jesus and the resurrection he shares with us is so great that even the sorrows we experience today will turn to joy as Christ brings us together into the new creation, as his family together. That strikes me as the very thing Dean sought most in this life. If he found enough to be grateful, loving our broken world with all of us broken people living in it during his life, can you imagine the joy he is experiencing being with Jesus now, reunited with all he lost, and patiently waiting for us to join him when Jesus brings us home?

Friends and family, we celebrate Dean's life today and cherish those memories. We will tell those stories for years to come. But his life is not over. We put our hope in Christ, who raises us to new life when we follow him, and has prepared a place for us to live and love together with him, forever.

Closing Prayer

Lord Jesus, Good Shepherd, we thank you for the life of Dean Kelly. We thank you for the love we shared and the lessons we learned. We thank you for the way you shaped us through his faithful care. Today, as we remember his life, we also remember that before he was ours he is yours. We hope and eagerly await the day that we can be reunited together with him, but for today, we pray for your grace, your mercy, your peace, and your comfort. We pray that you send your Spirit to touch the hearts and minds of Susan and Brandon, Sherri and Ted, Garrett, Mia, Bradley, and Brooklynn, and all the family and friends who feel his loss today.

Thank you for the gift that he was to us and the hope that we will see him again with you.

In Jesus' name, Amen.