John B. “Jack” Kelly was a sports fanatic. During World War I, Jack served in the army and became a champion boxer. Following the war, Jack rejoined his father’s highly successful bricklaying firm called “Kelly for Brickwork.” The postwar boom quickly made Jack a millionaire. Jack’s wealth freed him up to spend long hours perfecting his skill at sculling, rowing a long, thin needle-shaped boat with two oars. Jack’s dedication paid off. In a short time, he won six national championships and was the single scull champion of the United States. Jack’s talents were such that he competed in the 1920 Summer Olympics at Antwerp, Belgium.
On that warm August day, Jack’s first event was the single scull, one person per boat. Jack’s competitor, J. Beresford, jumped ahead at the start of the race and held the lead for the first 750 meters. Newspapers said that Jack got a “last spurt” of energy and closed the gap when they were just 150 meters from the finish line. Jack took the lead and crossed the finish line a full boat length before Beresford. Jack won the gold medal in the single scull. Back on dry land, Jack and Beresford were too tired to even shake hands. Jack had little time to celebrate. 30 minutes later, he competed in the double scull with his cousin as his teammate and they won gold. Four years later, Jack and his cousin competed in the double scull in the 1924 Paris Olympics and won gold again. Jack was the first rower in history to win three gold medals.
In 1923, Jack met a girl named Margaret Majer at a swimming competition. Margaret drew Jack’s attention for multiple reasons. Margaret, also a fierce competitor, won first place in the women’s competition. Margaret was also a cover-girl model with a degree in physical education. She later became the first woman to teach physical education at the University of Pennsylvania and at Women’s Medical College. In January 1924, six months before the Paris Olympics, Jack and Margaret married.
Together, Jack and Margaret had four children; Margaret, whom they called Peggy, John Kelly Jr., whom they called Kell, Patricia, and Elizabeth Anne, whom they called Lizanne. Jack and Margaret expected all of their children to be as competitive in sports as they were. Peggy, Kell, and Lizanne lived up to their expectations. Kell competed in the 1948, 1952, 1956, and 1960 Olympics. He won gold medals at the 1955 and 1959 Pan American Games and the 1949 European Championships. Peggy and Lizanne competed as well at the college level. Then, there was Patricia.
Patricia was absolutely uninterested in competitive sports. She enjoyed swimming but not competition swimming. She liked to swim just for fun, which Patricia’s parents were unable to comprehend. Patricia was only somewhat interested in academia. Her math grades were so low that she was rejected from her first choice of colleges. She eventually enrolled in the American Academy of Dramatic Arts. Soon after graduation, she began working as an actress, an occupation her father thought was “a slim cut above streetwalker.” She appeared in thirty films including “Dial M for Murder,” “Rear Window,” and “High Society,” before she decided to retire at the height of her career.
Patricia, the outcast of the family, the girl who was not expected to amount to anything, became the most famous member of the family. Patricia was the middle name of movie star and Princess of Monaco, Grace Kelly.