Joseph A. Kelliher, 84, of West Hartford, beloved husband of Dolores (Tremko) Kelliher passed away May 7, 2020, surrounded by his family. Born on August 28, 1935, in Hartford, he was the son of John and Agnes Kelliher. The ‘baby’ in a family of 5 children under the age of 5, he loved sharing stories of their youth growing up in the North End. Joe was a proud member of the 1954 Weaver State Championship basketball team. He enlisted and served in the Army and was employed for the majority of his career with the Balf Company and vigorously enjoyed his more than 20 years of retirement (and let everyone know how much he enjoyed that retirement too). He coached Elmwood Datsun in the West Hartford Youth Basketball League for many years. With a quick wit and an abundant sense of humor, he was happy to remind everyone that Harry Truman was his favorite President and despite his visual impairment, he enjoyed skiing slopes and walking 9 holes of golf. He loved his crazy and colorful socks, a generous splash of Polo cologne, getting on the dance floor, listening to his books on tape, particularly those on world history and biographies, and was always ready for a card game of setback and watching the Red Sox or UConn basketball with a bag of veggie sticks and a glass of chardonnay in tow (and jokingly warned family and friends to not to call during UConn games). In addition to his wife, he is survived by daughter Anne Marie Andrews and her husband Todd Andrews of Newington, CT., daughter Marybeth Kelliher and her husband Steve Jordan of Alexandria, VA., and son Kevin Kelliher of Germantown, MD. In addition, “Papa” leaves 3 granddaughters, for whom he always found an extra $20 bill to slip into their hands: Katelyn Andrews, Megan Andrews and Emily Kelliher. He is also survived by two sisters, Anna Sheehy, Peggy Dawson, and brother Frank Kelliher and their respective families, as well as countless loving and boisterous friends, nephews and nieces who affectionately called him Joey. He was predeceased by his parents and brother Jack. Given current social distancing circumstances, a private ceremony and burial will be held with a public mass and celebration of his life (and a very loud and fun one too) to be held at a later date. Joe benefited from many available tools to overcome his visual impairment and with this in mind, contributions may be made through the Connecticut Heritage Foundation at https://egov.ct.gov/HeritageFoundationDonations/Donation/Create and selecting "Friends of the Library for the Blind and Physically Handicapped (LBPH)”. Online condolences may be made at www.SheehanHilbornBreen.com