Winsor Francis Kelly, 89, died at his residence at Harbor Tower in Oak Harbor on March 27, 2011. Winsor was born on April 20, 1921 in Sawtelle, Calif. He spent most of his childhood and teen years in Centralia, Wash.

After high school, Winsor joined the National Guard in 1939 and then enlisted in the U.S. Navy in May 1940. He was an Airedale, serving as a radioman aboard the PBY’s during World War II. He was stationed at Pearl Harbor in Hawaii during the Japanese invasion and then flew with the Coastwatchers off the west coast of Australia. He was aboard one of two PBY’s that flew behind Japanese lines in April 1942 as part of Operation Gridiron, successfully rescuing a group of U.S. Army nurses from Corregidor. For his actions in combat, he was awarded the Silver Star.

He left the Navy after the war in 1946, worked with the railroad for two years, then returned to the Navy in 1948. He was stationed in Guam, Japan, Okinawa, and flew patrols over Korea during the Korean War. In 1954, he was assigned as a military observer for a series of U.S. nuclear tests in the Marshall Islands.

Winsor attended air traffic control school in Tennessee and Kansas. He was stationed at Corpus Christi, Texas, Whidbey Island, Sand Point in Seattle, and aboard the USS Intrepid before retiring from the Navy in 1962 as an Air Control Chief (E-7) with 20 years of service.

After his Navy career, Winsor worked for the U.S. Postal Service until 1968. He then worked as a Flight Planning Operations Duty Officer at NAS Whidbey until 1979, retiring with over 36 years of federal service.

Winsor was an avid salmon and trout fisherman and adept at tying flies. He enjoyed playing golf for many years. He was a member of St. Augustine’s Catholic Church of Oak Harbor, the Pearl Harbor Survivors Association, the PBY Association and Veterans of Foreign Wars, Whitehead-Muzzall Post 7392 of Oak Harbor.

Winsor was married to Velma Elizabeth Lancaster in 1953. He is survived by two sons, Michael Kelly of Oak Harbor and Mark Kelly of Seattle; two granddaughters, Jessica Kelly of Bellingham and Erica Jansen of Beale Air Force Base, Sacramento, Calif.; one great-grandson, Kaiden Li Ferguson; one sister, Althea Travera of Portland, Ore.; and a very special friend, Lydia Gabrielson of Oak Harbor. He was preceded in death by his wife, Velma, and one daughter, Linda Lee Wampler.

No formal services are planned. A small gathering of family and friends to share memories and celebrate Winsor’s life is planned for Wednesday, April 20, at the VFW Hall, 3037 N. Goldie Rd., starting at 2 p.m. Friends and family are encouraged to share memories and condolences at www.wallinfuneralhome.com. Arrangements are entrusted to Wallin Funeral Home & Cremation, Oak Harbor.