Kelly D. Mooring, a believer in hard work

FOR KELLY Daniel Mooring Sr., family was a major source of pride.

With sons working in education and in public service, he got satisfaction from seeing his children in careers that make a difference.

He would start cooking days in advance for large family dinners during Kwanzaa, relatives said.

And after he retired, he became interested in using online resources to research his family history.

Kelly Daniel Mooring Sr., an Army veteran, employee-relations director, education advocate and family man, died April 10 of heart failure. He was 70 and lived in West Windsor, N.J.

He was born in Ayden, N.C. After his mother died, he moved to Philadelphia and was raised by an uncle. He attended Martha Washington Elementary School and West Philadelphia High School, the family said, then completed his secondary education in North Carolina.

Kelly joined the Army in the early 1960s. He was a member of the signal guard from 1965 to 1968, working with computers and radar. He served in Vietnam.

After his honorable discharge, Kelly worked as a computer technician with IBM in Philadelphia from 1969 to 1972, his family said.

He received a bachelor's degree in industrial relations from Temple University in 1974, and worked for his alma mater as its director of labor relations from 1972 to 1979, the family said. He then served as director of employee relations at Educational Testing Service, in New Jersey, retiring in 1999.

Kelly was passionate about education. He served on the Trenton Board of Education and was a member of the board of trustees of the Village Charter School, in Trenton, the family said.

Shawn Mooring, 38, an employee of the 21st Century Foundation, a nonprofit agency promoting black advancement, said that his father believed that "anything was open to you if you worked hard and pursued your education."

Another great love of Kelly's was the Eagles. He had season tickets from the late 1960s through the early 2000s. When Veterans Stadium was built, he selected seats underneath the overhang. "He was always proud that we were not as exposed to the elements as others were," said his son Kelly Mooring Jr., 45, a school principal in New Brunswick, N.J.

He leaves another son, Anthony; a daughter, Vanessa Culbreth; two ex-wives; a brother, James Lyons; a sister, Netta Martin; eight grandchildren and five great-grandchildren.

Services: 1 p.m. today at St. Mary's Baptist Church, Greenville, N.C.