Gregory Kelley

Gregory Eric "Greg" Kelley (May 19, 1944 – February 15, 1961) was an American figure skater who competed in men's singles. He won the junior title at the 1959 U.S. Figure Skating Championships and finished ninth at the 1960 World Figure Skating Championships after the top three U.S. skaters skipped the event. In 1961, he won the silver medal at the U.S. Nationals and the bronze at the North American Figure Skating Championships.

Kelley was the youngest of eight siblings. His parents were Dr. Vincent Kelley, who was a top surgeon in Boston, and his wife Nathalie. Kelley began skating at age eight after attending a learn-to-skate program at Boston's skating club. As a teenager, he moved to Colorado Springs, Colorado to train with Edi Scholdan at the Broadmoor Figure Skating Club. His older sister, Nathalie, took leave from her job as a high school science teacher to move to Colorado and serve as Kelley's chaperone. Aside from his figure skating career, Kelley's ambition was to be a doctor like his father. Kelley was a member of the American Numismatic Association and, as of 1961, had the world's largest collection of three-dollar bills. Kelley owned 42 of the 65 three-dollar bills that were known to exist.^[1]

Kelley was en route to the World Championships in 1961 when his plane (Sabena Flight 548) crashed near Brussels, Belgium, killing all on board. He was 16 at the time of his death. His 29-year-old sister, Nathalie, who accompanied her brother on the flight as a chaperone, was also killed in the crash.

On January 28, 2011, Michelson was inducted into the United States Figure Skating Hall of Fame along with the entire 1961 World Team.^[2]

• N = Novice level; J = Junior level

• Gregory Kelley at Find a Grave
• "Skater Gregory Kelley and Sister Eulogized at Newton Funeral", clipping from The Boston Globe
• U.S. Figure Skating biography (archived at Wayback Machine, September 7, 2015)
• Remembering Flight 548: Shattered dreams (archived at Wayback Machine, February 23, 2010)