Tributes to Orange carpenter Ron Kelly who helped build hundreds of homes

A carpenter by trade, he was one half of the Kelly and Taylor business which specialised in renovation works and extensions for decades.

Scott Kelly first began working for his dad from the start of 1980 and said his father's can-do attitude was unmatched.

"I remember I was crook as a dog one day and dad just got stuck in and did all the footings and that by himself, all while I was laying in the seat of the car," he said.

"It was a hot day and I'd eaten something wrong, but he just got it all done himself."

The son estimated his dad helped build "hundreds and hundreds" of homes around the city during his time in the industry.

"A lot of them we did for people who came to Orange when the Department of Ag came here," Scott Kelly added.

On top of that, he had a hand in projects at Orange High School and notably Orange Civic Centre, after it was damaged during the "enormous" hail storm that hit the city on January 22, 1986.

Following on from this, Mr Kelly dedicated the next two years of his life to helping patch up the damage caused to rooves as a result of the 7cm hail stones.

Mr Kelly died on July 5 at the age of 88, less than two months after his wife Margaret also passed away after 64 years of marriage.

The pair spent the last few weeks of their lives at the Orange Grove Care Community where they always made time for each other.

"We got dad upstairs and mum was downstairs in the dementia unit, but he used to go get her every day for lunch," the couple's son added.

Coming up to his final days, Mr Kelly's kidneys "weren't right" and his heart wasn't functioning as well as it could have been.

While these ailments were of no benefit to him, it was a broken heart which his son believed was the straw that broke the camel's back.

"Dad missed mum so much that he passed away," Scott added.

"Once he got everything settled and mum was gone, I think he thought it was time to go as well."

Since his father's death, Scott said there had been an outpouring of support from friends and colleagues of his dad.

"It makes me proud that people remember him so well as a gentleman and a great builder who always tried to do the right thing," he added.

"We always got the job done right to start with. Rarely did we ever have to go back and fix anything."

Mr Kelly is survived by his six children and children-in-law, Scott and Sue, Brad and Narelle as well as Andrew and Gwyneth.

His son Scott still remembers the time he and his wife Sue nearly lost his parents during a trip to Mexico.

After a day of adventuring on their own in Tijuana, Scott and Sue made their way back to the designated spot to catch the bus back to the USA.

There was just one problem, Ron and Margaret were nowhere to be seen.

"We were sitting there going 'where are they'," Ron recalled.

They held the bus up for 30 minutes while they waited, but eventually a decision had to be made; should the couple get their ride home and hope Ron and Margaret would figure out a way back, or should they forgo the bus ride and begin a search.

"We made the decision to go back to the States," Scott said.

"As we were driving, about 1km down the road, here's mum and dad standing at the wrong bus stop.

"Luckily someone on the bus spotted them and we pulled over to get them. We made sure they weren't too far away from us after that."

The funeral for Ron Kelly will be on Friday, July 21 at The Penhall Memorial Chapel. The service will commence at 10.30am.

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