Harlan T. Kelley; Longtime Ojai Resident

Harlan T. Kelley, a longtime Ojai resident and retired operating engineer, died Thursday after a long illness. He was 83.

Kelley was born Nov. 8, 1914, in Del Rio, Texas. He moved with his parents in 1923 to Long Beach, where he graduated from high school, his family said.

Kelley served in the Civilian Conservation Corps from 1934 to 1936. He also served in the U.S. Navy during World War II.

On Dec. 31, 1945, Kelley married a girl who had served him a soda in a drugstore while he was on a date earlier that year with another girl, his family said.

“I gave him a love drop in his Coke that first night and when he came back alone the next night, I gave him two,” joked Kelley’s wife of 53 years, Carmelita Kelley of Ojai.

The couple moved from Long Beach to Ventura in 1946, and a year later they settled in Ojai and built a home, Carmelita Kelley said.

Kelley worked as an operating engineer for Lang Transportation and later for Reed and Lang Construction. He retired in 1970 after being severely injured when a dirt grater fell on his leg, his wife said.

Kelley enjoyed reading and doing small fix-it projects around the couple’s home. He was also a member of the Lions Club. Kelley and his wife traveled extensively in a recreational vehicle.

In addition to his wife, Kelley is survived by a son, Milton Kelley of Ojai; a brother, Charles Kelley of Sacramento; a sister, Peggy Preston of Los Gatos; two grandsons; three great-grandchildren, and many nieces, nephews and cousins.

Visitation will be from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday and Tuesday at Clausen Funeral Home in Ojai. There will be a memorial service at 11 a.m. Tuesday at Clausen Funeral Home. Burial will be private.