Ronald Boyce Kelly

Ronald Boyce Kelly

1943 ~ 2026

Our dad, Ronald Boyce Kelly, passed away on April 1, 2026 at the age of 82, due to injuries sustained in an accident at home. He was a husband, father, grandfather, great-grandfather, brother, uncle and friend to many.

Ron was born to Howard and Verda Kelly in Salt Lake City, Utah on April 6, 1943 during WWII. He grew up with his older sister, Joleen, and his younger brothers, Clifford and Randall. Ron’s parents taught him the value of hard work in their large garden and meticulously clean home. He enjoyed his Kenwood 2nd Ward neighbors including many friends who were positive examples to him throughout his youth. Their examples encouraged him to serve an LDS mission to Toronto, Canada following his graduation from Olympus High. Upon returning, he married Joan Jackson in 1965 in the Salt Lake Temple.

After earning his masters degree at the University of Utah, he started the early chapters of his career in northern California. Shortly after learning they were expecting twins that would expand their family to 4 kids under age 5, they moved back to Utah and made their home in American Fork. Ron loved his house at the top of a cul-de-sac where he and Joan raised their large family alongside their amazing neighbors for the past 50 years.

Ron had a career working as a social worker at the Utah State Mental Hospital. He was proud of the outdoor therapy programs he helped to create that allowed his patients to experience fishing, camping, rafting, and skiing. Through these adventures, Ron created treasured friendships with his coworkers that continued throughout his life.

Camping was a regular activity in the Kelly family. Mirror Lake, Flaming Gorge, Arches National Park, and American Fork Canyon were favorite places for Ron. He loved sharing the thrill of rafting down the Green River or fly fishing on a mountain stream in the Uintah’s with his children.

Some favorite family memories with our dad include snow skiing with him as he taught each of us to ski. We loved skiing at Snowbird and Brighton and remember him driving us up to the free night of skiing on KSL’s “blue chip” night. We also remember the infamous road trip to California where all the kids piled into the back of our pickup truck with a camper shell on it. No seatbelts!

Ron enjoyed going on long drives in the mountains and seeing the beauty of nature around him. He loved to shop at DI, Home Depot and Harbor Freight to find something new. His neighbors would often see him tinkering in his garage or mowing his lawn on his riding lawn mower. Home improvement projects were a constant hobby in his life. He was known for being resourceful by fixing things himself. Ron was also an avid sports fan. He held season tickets to the Utah Jazz with his brother Randy and also loved college football. When he wasn’t watching sports on TV, he could be found enjoying a good Hallmark channel movie or watching current events on the news.

Ron was a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. He served others in many ways but especially enjoyed working with the young men.

Ron was preceded in death by his dear wife Joan, his parents, and younger brother Randy. He is survived by his 7 children: Shaun Kelly, Angela Sneddon (Joe), Kimberly Lunt (Timothy), Melissa McAllister (David), Ryan Kelly (Amber), Amanda Barlow (Curtis), and Lindsey Keith (Nathan), 25 grandchildren and 7 great-grandchildren, sister Joleen Burton, brother Clifford Kelly, sister-in-law Vicki Kelly, and sister-in-law Kathy Kelly.

Funeral services will be held on Thursday, April 9, 2026 at the American Fork East Stake Center, 825 East 500 North in American Fork, Utah. A viewing will be held from 9:30-10:30am with a funeral service following at 11:00am. Interment will be at the American Fork Cemetery. To watch a live-stream of the funeral services, please reach out to a family member for a link.

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