Kellen Richard Smith

Kellen “Kelley” Richard Smith passed away peacefully on Thursday, February 6th after a brief bout with cancer, just 11 days shy of his 74th birthday. Kelley was born in Harrison, OH to Kate & JD Smith and grew up in Port Clinton & Youngstown with 4 brothers and 1 sister. As the 3rd of 6 kids born within an 8-year span, there are countless stories about Kelley and his siblings. He graduated from Liberty High School in Youngstown and went on to graduate from Cornell University with a degree in electrical engineering.

On a fateful trip back to Ohio from NYC, Kelley’s flight was cancelled. He took a bus into the city and sat next to a French woman named Corinne Richardson. During the bus ride, he asked her out to dinner and after that he would go to NYC every other weekend to visit her. A year later they married and eventually welcomed three children.

Kelley worked throughout Connecticut & Ohio after graduating from college before returning to Port Clinton to work for his father at C. Nelson Manufacturing. Together, Kelley, his brother Quin, and their dad worked tirelessly to grow C. Nelson & Northern Manufacturing into two successful companies. Amicably, Kelley took over C. Nelson & Quin took over Northern when their father retired. Today C. Nelson employs over 50 people and is one of the only ice cream freezer manufacturers that are still proudly made in America.

He built the company to be the most reputable brand in the Ice Cream Industry. So much of his adult life was based around his work. For example, his family had the arduous task of scoping out different ice cream shops to ensure that C. Nelson was the freezer of choice. He established a family rule, only eat ice cream from shops that have C. Nelson freezers.

He had friendships with various employees, customers, and vendors who all knew that Kelley was someone they could respect and trust. He lived by the motto that if you can partner with your customers to solve their problems, you can make a friend for life. Kelley’s favorite hobbies were working, talking about work, and thinking about work. He also loved ice cream, steak, and scaring seagulls off his outdoor patio & rooftop. He supported charitable causes like Stein Hospice, Habitat for Humanity, and the Salvation Army.

He was preceded in death by his wife of 40 years, Corinne, brother, Steve, and his parents, Kate & JD. He is survived by his children: Yaneek, Sabrina (Chris) Guthrie, and Derek (Ashley) Smith; four grandchildren: Jameson, Isla, Harlow and Coco; four siblings: Tim (Valerie) Smith, Dan (Ruth) Smith, Margery Smith, Quin (Donna) Smith, numerous relatives and special friend, Lolita Keils. The care Kelley received from Stein Hospice is very appreciated by the family.

Visitation hours will be Thursday March 6th from 4-7 P.M. at Gerner-Wolf-Walker Funeral Home (Port Clinton). A Celebration of Life on Friday March 7th at 5 P.M. will take place at C. Nelson Manufacturing Company.