MICHAEL ‘MAD DOG’ KELLY

Michael “Mad Dog” Kelly, 61, died June 16, 2010, at Alaska Regional Hospital in Anchorage following a massive stroke.

A wake is scheduled for 5 to 8 p.m. Monday at Twister Creek in Talkeetna.

Mr. Kelly was born Jan. 1, 1949, in Cincinnati, Ohio, to John Kelly and Margaret Schnelle. He graduated from Elder High School in 1967 and majored in Russian studies at the University of Cincinnati, intending to become an interpreter, but music called him.

A lifelong musician, his first gig was at St. Lawrence Gridiron Club in 1965, and he was a full-time musician for 36 years.

“Michael was the consummate entertainer and lit up the stage,” his family wrote. “He began lead singing and picked up numerous instruments, but the bass guitar was where he shined.”

In the late 1960s, he started playing with Plum Wine, which shared the stage with major acts such as Janis Joplin, Hour Glass (Allman Brothers) and Jefferson Airplane. He loved to share his stories of those times.

Mr. Kelly retired from playing full-time, but kept his licks up playing part time.

“Michael attracted people from all walks of life,” his family wrote. “He made people feel special and loved to make them laugh.”

He met his wife, Glenda, in 1984 and they married May 20, 1989, in Ormond Beach, Fla. The Kellys “dropped out of the straight life” and moved to Talkeetna in 2001. He began working for the Talkeetna Historical Museum in 2001 and became curator in 2005. He cared deeply for the museum and called his work his legacy for Talkeetna.

He is survived by his children, Delia Hoffman, Bridie Kelly, Tristan Hoffman and Janis Coryea; grandchildren, Jarod and Breann Hoffman and brothers and sisters, Jerry and Pam Rauen, Barb and Steve Beiderbeck and Nolan Mendenhall. In Talkeetna, he has numerous “sons and daughters.”

The family wrote that it would like everyone to support health-care reform. “Michael worked hard his whole life, never wanting anything free, but went without treatment because of exorbitant health, drug and insurance costs,” they wrote. “More and more, people are losing everything and won’t be able to afford the care that may cure them, or, if not cure, help the quality of the life they have left.”

Arrangements were entrusted to the Cremation Society of Alaska. An online guestbook can be signed at alaskacremation.com.