Kelly's only son, C. Markland Kelly, Jr., enlisted as a Naval Air Cadet while attending the University of Maryland, College Park. After attending the aviation training school at the Jacksonville Naval Air Station in Florida, he received his wings and was commissioned in August, 1941. He then was assigned to active duty on the Aircraft Carrier USS Hornet (CV-8), which was being completed at Norfolk, Virginia. On June 4, 1942, attached to the USS Hornet (CV-8) during the Battle of Midway, he and his single-seated Grumman F4F Wildcat were lost in the Pacific Ocean. In 1945, to perpetuate his son's name, Kelly, Sr. established the Ensign C. Markland Kelly, Jr. Memorial Foundation. The foundation has become a respected local institution during its sixty-five years of activity. It initiated funding of the Lacrosse Hall of Fame Foundation and presents the Ensign C. Markland Kelly, Jr. Award annually to the top college Lacrosse goaltender. Additionally, the Foundation disburses hundreds of thousands of dollars to the American Legion, schools, colleges, hospitals, clinics, youth programs, and various civic and cultural institutions in the Baltimore area.Weisheit, Bowen P. The Last Flight of Ensign C. Markland Kelly, Junior, USNR. Baltimore: The Ensign C. Markland Kelly, Jr., Memorial Foundation, Inc., 1996.
