Brooker Mikey Kelly, veteran educator, dies at 87

Editor's note: This story has been revised to clarify that Forest and Vanguard high schools were created as integrated schools.

Brooker Mikey Kelly — a former University of Florida football standout, Forest High School’s first principal, and a Korean War veteran — has died. He was 87.

Kelly was best known in Marion County as the first principal of Forest during integration. In 1970, the school district opened Forest High to replace Ocala High, the all-white school, and opened Vanguard High School to replace Howard High School, an all-black school. Both Forest and Vanguard were created as integrated schools.

A year after Kelly was named the new Forest High principal, current School Board member Bobby James — a 1966 Howard High graduate, former teacher, football coach and principal in Marion County — was hired by Kelly as head coach of the freshman football team and civics teacher.

“He took us through some tough times,” James said of Kelly, who died Tuesday. “He was a good principal and a good man.”

Kelly was born in Chiefland on Jan. 30, 1931. He moved to Jacksonville with his family in 1940. He was a 1949 graduate of Robert E. Lee High School in Jacksonville.

Kelly played football at UF and was a preseason All-American before he enlisted to serve in the Korean War. Kelly would become a three-year letterman for the Gators.

He graduated from UF in 1954, earning a bachelor’s degree in physical education. While he served as an assistant football coach from 1954-57 at Andrew Jackson High School in Jacksonville, Kelly earned a master’s degree, though records do not indicate in what subject.

In 1957, Kelly was named head football coach and athletic director at Ribault High School in Jacksonville. In 1966, Kelly became assistant principal at Robert E. Lee High, his alma mater, according to a resume he filed with the Marion school system in 1970.

Kelly served in leadership at Eugene Butler Jr. Sr. High from January 1970 until he was hired several months later to become Forest High School’s first principal.

Kevin Christian, school district spokesman, said the district sent out a message to employees about his death.

Education is in the Kelly family blood: Kelly’s son Mike is the former Belleview High School principal who was just moved to principal to oversee the district’s vocational and adult education facilities. His grandson Michael is the head football coach at Belleview High. His daughter, Jan Jo Merians, graduated from Forest in 1975 and retired as activities director at her alma mater.

His granddaughter Kelly Merians Davis and grandson Gary Merians Jr. are both teachers at Forest, and Gary is also a baseball coach.

A memorial service will be at 11 a.m. today at First Presbyterian Church in Ocala.

“Thank you for keeping this family in your thoughts and prayers,” the school district email stated.

Mikey Kelly was principal at Forest from 1970 to 1977. He was then assigned to Lake Weir Middle School, but decided instead to take a job at Leesburg High School.

George Tomyn, executive director of the Florida High School Activities Association and Marion's superintendent of schools from 2012-16, is a 1972 Forest High graduate.

"He was admired by all and his positive influence on me as a high school student contributed to the great high school experience that I had," Tomyn said. "That experience was a leading factor of why I chose to go into the education field. It was a special honor for me when when I had the privilege of following in his footsteps and serving as principal at Forest from 1996-2005."

Joe Callahan can be reached at 867-4113 or at joe.callahan@starbanner.com. Follow him on Twitter @JoeOcalaNews.