WELLSVILLE — Tom Kelsey may not have lived in Wellsville since the 1960s, but the community he grew up in has always remained near and dear to his heart. His wife of 59 years, Dottie Naylor Kelsey, feels the same.

The Kelseys were in town recently to attend Tom’s 65th high school reunion and also to do some business on behalf of the Kelsey-Naylor Family Foundation, a non-profit, charitable organization that was founded four years ago by Tom and Dottie’s son, John David Kelsey, a real estate investment developer in Old Lyme, Conn. Tom and Dottie, who live in Weymouth, Mass., are trustees of the foundation, along with their daughter, and they make many of the decisions as to where the funding goes.

Wellsville is at the top of their list, they said.

Tom grew up at the top of State Street in a home his father built in 1938. John Kelsey worked in the oil and gas industry and at the Sinclair Refinery for the majority of his working life. After the refinery closed, he helped develop the New York State Oil Producers Association, based in Bolivar.

Tom has great memories from his boyhood in Wellsville — Memorial Day parades with cadres of sharply uniformed firefighters, swimming, Little League games, the pet parade — — for which his mother, Mary Clark Kelsey, dressed up the family dog — going to the library, eating at the Texas Hot, days in Brooklyn grammar school, high school and shared  times with friends like Joe Felsen.

He has maintained those friends and cherished those memories over the years.

“Wellsville was a lively, vibrant place back then,” Tom said. “The Genesee may have had a little sheen on it and the fishing wasn’t so good, but it was still a great place to grow up.”

MAINTAINING WELLSVILLE TIES

He left Wellsville at age 17, following in his father and older brother’s footsteps to attend the University of Michigan. He pursued his doctorate degree at the University of Florida in Central American Studies and traveled to Brazil, Venezuela and Guyana. He returned to Wellsville periodically over the years, maintaining his closeness with friends and the community.

When Dottie was introduced to the village, she recalled, “It was like taking a breath of fresh air.” Raised in Trenton, N.J., she appreciated the rural, small-town atmosphere and friendliness of the people.

“All the storefronts were open,” she said. “It was in ’63 or ’64 and there were great places to shop like Rockwells.”

The couples’ life took them to far off and exotic places — they took their 3-month-old twins up the Amazon River to their new home. Eventually, the couple moved to Florida to raise the twins and two more children. They spent a while in Pittsburgh,  where Tom was a  professor at the University of Pittsburgh and where Dottie, an Ohio State University graduate, earned her master’s in education and international development of education.

“If nothing else, the education we both received gave us a broader view and bigger picture of the world,” she said. This is why they have given the support of the Kelsey-Naylor Family Foundation to the Applied Sciences Division of Alfred State College in Wellsville.

The Kelsey-Naylor Family Foundation has been supporting Alfred State for the last three years. Its previous two gifts established the Tool Fund for students in need of money to purchase tools needed for their educations.

“I can’t imagine being talented, smart and capable and not able to get the education you need to achieve a better quality of life because you can’t afford the tools you need,” Dottie said.

“In some cases, the cost of their tools is greater than their tuition,” Tom pointed out.

FOUNDATION’S SUPPORT

The foundation’s latest gift to the school was $125,000 and it has two purposes: $100,000 is designated to the tool fund and $25,000 is being used to establish an endowment they hope will encourage others to donate.

“We want to inspire others to donate to the students,” Dottie said. “We are a drop in the bucket compared to other foundations across the country. We hope this gift inspires others to give so they know the impact they can have on these kids’ lives. It doesn’t have to be a large gift. If you’ve ever lived hand to mouth, you know that $200 is a huge amount and can make a big difference. Any amount will help.”

Over the years the Kelseys have watched the tide rise and fall for Wellsville and from their recent visit they are encouraged by new activities and revitalization happening in the village, although, Dottie noted, “There are still some small sections where there is work to be done.”

The foundation gives funding to areas where the family has significant ties to the community. It has given its support to the David A. Howe Library, as well as the Trenton Public Library and North Palm Beach Public Library. It also supports the Academic Games Program in Florida, the South Florida Fair and the Today’s A Good Day program for premature infants at the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia, where their grandchild was born at 26 1/2 weeks. They also support programs at their local YMCA.

When asked why they are making charitable contributions to Wellsville and other communities, Dottie said, “The transmission of values in our society today is really lacking and it is one of the most important things needed for the stability of our country.”

Tom simply replied, “Because it is the right thing to do.”