10/06/2026
After 99 remarkable years, our dear friend Col. Tom Kelly has flown home to his final roost.
He was a veteran of two wars and a pioneer in Alabama forestry before the turkey hunting world knew his name. At age 46, at his wife Helen’s urging, he finally immortalized the cult of old school turkey hunters. His Tenth Legion galvanized the culture and went on to become one of the bestselling and most beloved hunting books ever written. For decades after, he captivated the turkey hunting world with woodsmanship and wit in books and in columns everywhere from Field & Stream to Sports Illustrated.
This spring, the frost will finally begin to fade. The dogwoods will wake from winter with thoughts of blooming. The wise old owl will call good morning to the woods around him. And an old longbeard will stand tall on the limb and stick his neck out. For the first time in 100 years, he’ll shout to the woods the return of the season without Col. Tom Kelly around to feel it.
We’ll miss you, Colonel.
