Brian E. Kelly, a longtime cable marketer who was the chief marketing officer for Time Warner Cable's East Region when he retired after more than 20 years with the company, died Nov. 17 at his home in Charlotte, North Carolina, after a three-year battle with cancer. He was 62 years old. A native of Quincy, Massachusetts and a lifelong Red Sox fan, he is survived by his spouse, Renee Kelly, and his two daughters, Stephanie Mercer (Cortland Mercer) and Caroline Kelly, as well as his brother and sister, Kenneth Kelly and Maureen Shepard. He is preceded in death by his brother, John Kelly.
A graduate of Quincy High School and Boston College, Kelly was an accomplished wrestler, family and friends said. He always cited the wrestling mat as the source of the dedication, hard work, and integrity that would become hallmarks of his professional reputation, according to his published obituary in the Charlotte Observer. He began on the ground floor of the telecommunications industry selling cable subscriptions door to door in the Boston area before climbing the corporate ranks and holding a variety of senior leadership roles. His career also included general manager stints at Continental Cablevision and American Cablesystems in the 1980s, per his LinkedIn page. He also was very involved with the CTAM New England chapter. (A Cable Center oral history conversation including Kelly can be found here.)
Among the online tributes to Kelly were one by longtime cable marketer Ellen Schned, who said: "The pride of Time Warner Cable, the cable, media, music and telecommunications industries, North Carolina, his vast circle of friends and his beautiful wife & family who he loved like crazy, including his daughter Stephanie (here). We all are a little better having known Brian Kelly."
In lieu of flowers, a gift in his memory can be made to the Levine Cancer Institute via their website at http://AtriumHealthFoundation.org or the Red Sox Foundation at http://redsoxfoundation.org/BrianKelly
A visitation will be held at 10 AM on Thursday, Dec. 16, at St. Gabriel Catholic Church 3016 Providence Road, Charlotte, North Carolina, followed by a funeral Mass at 11 AM. You may view live streaming of the funeral at https://stgabrielchurch.org/livefunerals.
