Michael Kelly, Ex-Marine Sergeant Who Served In Persian Gulf War

With balloons and streamers, posters and noisemakers, Michael Joseph Kelly's family welcomed his return from Operation Desert Storm.

The young Marine was ending his tour in the Persian Gulf and a six-year military career.

The future was his to explore and the high school gymnast turned body-builder wanted to become a physical therapist.

But Mr. Kelly was badly shaken by the death of a longtime friend who was killed by a drunken driver last summer. For the first time, family members said, his life lacked the focus and direction that had defined it in the past. On Thursday, he took his own life.

Family and friends describe the 27-year-old man as dedicated and trustworthy. Sometimes shy, other times surprisingly spontaneous, he was a spark who would motivate others into action or lift their spirits when they were down.

"If he could have seen himself through our eyes, the people who loved him, he had so much to offer this world. He was a wonderful person," said Kristi Stringer, whose sister, Angela Gayle Redford, had been lifelong friends with Mr. Kelly. It was Redford who died in the drunken-driving accident last year.

At West Seattle High, Mr. Kelly competed in gymnastics, excelling in parallel bars, said his sister, Karen Kinch. Body building for the past decade was a natural extension, she said.

"He worked very hard. He was a health nut and worked very hard lifting weights - that kind of stuff - very conscious of his physique," Kinch said.

Among the first troops to be sent to Saudia Arabia in Operation Desert Shield, Mr. Kelly wrote eloquent letters to his family, talking about the change in climate, the heat and the seemingly endless wait.

He was given a hero's welcome upon his return. Six brothers and sisters, 11 nieces and nephews and his mother gathered at Sea-Tac.

Later, in a family member's home, he pored over an 8-foot map, sharing information about his tour of duty.

"He showed us all the places he had been over there. All the maneuvers he had been responsible for on this huge map, everybody on their knees," Kinch said. "He was like a sergeant in the middle of the field with his pointing stick, telling his troops what to do, except we were his nieces, nephews, brothers and sisters."

In November, 1991, Mr. Kelly earned the rank of sergeant. About a month later he was honorably discharged, Kinch said.

He had worked since May as a machinist for a Kent pipe-making firm. The next step was trying to fit in school so he could become a therapist.

Mr. Kelly was preceded in death by his adoptive father, Donald Alan Kelly. He is survived by his mother, Juliana Kelly, and, in addition to Kinch, sisters Diane Krossin of Pasco and Juliana Massart of Seattle; brothers Timothy Kelly, of Seattle, Glenn Kelly of Auburn and David Kelly of Federal Way.

A vigil service will be held at 6:30 tonight. A Mass will be held at 11 a.m. tomorrow at Holy Rosary Catholic Church in West Seattle. The family is asking for remembrances to be made to the Suicide Prevention Hotline 1-800-422-2552.