Friday, July 6, 2007
Sunday, July 1, 2007
Grace Kelly:The Beginning
Grace Kelly was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, where she grew up in the East Falls section, the third of four children to John Brendan Kelly, Sr., also known as Jack Kelly, and Margaret Katherine Majer Kelly. Grace's siblings, in order of age, were Peggy, John Jr., and Lizzane.
Her father was one of ten children of John Henry Kelly (1847-1897) and Mary Costello in an Irish American Catholic family (originally from Kidney Lake, Newport, County Mayo, Ireland). Already a local hero as a triple Olympic-gold-medal-winning sculler at a time when the sport of rowing was most popular, John Kelly's brick business grew to become the largest on the East Coast. The self-made millionaire and his family were introduced to Philadelphia society.
In 1935, John Kelly ran for mayor of Philadelphia, losing by the closest margin for any Democrat in Philadelphia. He later served on the Fairmount Park Commission. During World War II, President Franklin Roosevelt appointed him National Director of Physical Fitness, a post that allowed Kelly to use his fame to promote the virtues of physical fitness.
Grace's mother, born to Lutheran German parents (Carl Majer and Margaretha Berg), converted to Catholicism on marrying Mr. Kelly. Like her husband, Margaret Kelly was a proponent of health and fitness, studying Physical Education at Temple University and later becoming the first woman to head the Physical Education Department at the University of Pennsylvania.
Her father was one of ten children of John Henry Kelly (1847-1897) and Mary Costello in an Irish American Catholic family (originally from Kidney Lake, Newport, County Mayo, Ireland). Already a local hero as a triple Olympic-gold-medal-winning sculler at a time when the sport of rowing was most popular, John Kelly's brick business grew to become the largest on the East Coast. The self-made millionaire and his family were introduced to Philadelphia society.
In 1935, John Kelly ran for mayor of Philadelphia, losing by the closest margin for any Democrat in Philadelphia. He later served on the Fairmount Park Commission. During World War II, President Franklin Roosevelt appointed him National Director of Physical Fitness, a post that allowed Kelly to use his fame to promote the virtues of physical fitness.
Grace's mother, born to Lutheran German parents (Carl Majer and Margaretha Berg), converted to Catholicism on marrying Mr. Kelly. Like her husband, Margaret Kelly was a proponent of health and fitness, studying Physical Education at Temple University and later becoming the first woman to head the Physical Education Department at the University of Pennsylvania.
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