Larry Kelly Inspire Our Future Scholarship

Larry Kelly passed away September 3, 2020 due to COVID 19.  This was a sudden shock to his family and friends as he was in the hospital having ACDF surgery to help himself walk better.  

For those that did not know Larry Kelly, he was born and raised in New Orleans Louisiana.  He attended University of New Orleans and Louisiana State University.

With his graduate degree and new wife, Joan, he moved to Hialeah Florida and began teaching at Palm Springs Junior High School. There was a need for a high school in the area and once building was complete Larry began teaching at the brand new, Hialeah Miami Lakes Senior High School in 1971.  Throughout his 32 years with Dade County Public Schools, he and Joan had two daughters, Kimberlee (1967) and Kristina (1974).  Larry tried to make  AP American Government and Economics fun for his students.  Many students ended up studying Law or having careers in government from the experience they had with him.  His passion for teaching was always something he was recognized for with multiple awards for Teacher of the Year.  Larry was very humble and believed that his students were what made teaching so fun and exciting for him.  His proudest accomplishment happened every year when he registered his Senior students to register to vote.  It did not matter to him which party you belonged to as long as you exercised your right to vote.  

Larry and Joan retired to Ocala, Florida in 1997 where he took a job at the Freedom Library for 10 years.  He enjoyed interacting with the locals and helping them find the newest best seller or old time reads.  

Recently the family came across a Facebook group dedicated to Hialeah Miami Lakes Senior High Alumni.  There was a recent posting about who students favorite or memorable teachers were.  We printed the responses and Joan was in the process of reading them to Larry before he passed.  He remembered each and everyone of his students.  Truly an amazing gift to give him.

The family has decided to create the non-profit "Larry Kelly Inspire Our Future Scholarship" in honor of his dedication to his students.  Larry always wanted to help students achieve academic excellence. Once a year,  Seniors from Hialeah Miami Lakes Senior High School  with a GPA of 3.5 or higher are eligible to submit an essay on why they believe government is important to learn about their high school education. One student will be selected each year to receive $1500.00 to be used for college tuition or books.  We plan to continue the scholarship for at least 10-15 years.  

The family will match all donations up to $10,000.00.  

Thank you all for your kind words about Larry.  They have been part of the healing process for the family.  He will be greatly missed.