Clarence Marion Kelley (1911-1997) Papers (0661kc)

Clarence Marion Kelley (1911-1997) Papers (0661kc)

Clarence Kelley was born in Kansas City, Missouri and attended Northeast High School. He was the only child of Clarence Bond Kelley and Minnie Elizabeth Brown Kelley. He received his B.A. from the University of Kansas and his law degree from the University of Kansas City Law School. Kelley began working for the FBI in 1940, after graduation from law school. In 1944, he joined the Navy. He went back to the FBI in 1946 and worked with them until 1961when he became the Chief of Police in Kansas City, Missouri. In 1970, Kelley received the J. Edgar Hoover Medal as the nation's outstanding police chief. After the death of J. Edgar Hoover in 1973, Kelley was appointed Director of the FBI by Richard Nixon. After his retirement from the FBI in 1978, he moved back to Kansas City. In 1982, he formed Clarence M. Kelley and Associates, Inc., which specialized in complex investigations of matters such as white-collar crime and arson fraud. Kelley married Ruby Pickett, who he had known from his high school days, in 1937. They had two children, Kent and Mary Ruth. Ruby died in 1975 of cancer. Mr. Kelley married Shirley Dyckes, a former nun, in 1976.

This collection consists of correspondence, papers, clippings, speeches, photographs of Clarence Kelley and his family from Mr. Kelley's college days until 1994. It contains materials relating to Mr. Kelley's FBI career, to his tenure as Chief of Police of Kansas City, Missouri, and personal items. Included is correspondence and, in some cases photos, of Richard Nixon, George Bush, J. Edgar Hoover, Ronald Reagan, and Barry Goldwater. ca. 1940-1991.

18 cubic feet

updated: Monday, February 07, 2011
State Historical Society of Missouri Research Center-Kansas City
(816) 235-1543 WHMCKC@umkc.edu