John Kelly

Family, friends and the community are welcome to join in a gathering honoring John's life on Thursday, April 24, 2025, at Hope Lutheran Church, 2314 Homedale Road, Klamath Falls, Viewing starting at 5:00 p.m. service starting at 6p.m

John Anthony Kelly III, 66, died unexpectedly on April 17, 2025 at 5:52 p.m. at Asante Rouge Regional Medical Center in Medford, Oregon.

A beloved father, grandfather, son and brother, John loved nothing more than spending quality time with his family.

Born August 20, 1958 and raised in Salinas, California alongside three brothers, John had a strong devotion to family from a young age.

Shortly after graduating from Salinas High School, John pursed his passion for firearms by attending school in Trinidad, Colorado where he studied gun smithing. He worked for years as a talented welder and gun smith.

In his early 30s, John was cared for by a male nurse after a motorcycle accident and felt moved to change his career and be that caretaker for others. As he became a husband and father in the early 1990s, John graduated from nursing school in Carson City, Nevada.

Soon after, he moved to Oregon, which quickly became home for his growing family. John spent decades as a registered nurse and worked in the ER for 20 years at Sky Lakes Medical Center.

After becoming a grandfather in 2020, John devoted his life to being full-time grandpa - or 'Coco' - to Zane. He spent his final years splitting time between Klamath Falls and Washington, D.C., where his children and grandson live.

John enjoyed hunting and fishing with his best friend Bill McNamara and spending time in Oregon's outdoors. But most of all he loved going on long motorcycle rides with his son, hiking and camping with his daughter and saying nighttime prayers with his grandson. There wasn't anything John wouldn't do for family.

John is survived by his mother, Ruthetta Johns; son Nathaniel Hunt Kelly and daughter-in-law Katelyn Caralle; daughter Ariah Hunt-Kelly and grandson Zane Hunt-Kelly; and brothers A. Bruce Johns and D. Matthew Kelly.

Family, friends and the community are welcome to join in a gathering honoring John's life on Thursday, April 24, 2025, at Hope Lutheran Church, 2314 Homedale Road, Klamath Falls, Viewing starting at 5:00 p.m. service starting at 6p.m.