Joseph E. Kelley Passes Away at 73
Joseph E. Kelley, a commissioner on the New Jersey State Commission of Investigation and the father of a former senior aide to Gov. Phil Murphy, has died at 73. He passed away today following an accident last week.
Career Highlights
Kelley served earlier as an administrative law judge and held a post in the New Jersey Board of Utilities’ Office of Cable Television. Gov. Murphy appointed him to the SCI in February to fill a vacant seat.
As a BPU examiner in 1978, Kelley led efforts to block New Jersey Bell Telephone’s proposed increase in basic residential phone rates. He later spent 16 years as a senior trial lawyer with the Roseland firm Zirulnik, Sherlock & DeMille.
Since 2024 he operated his own practice, Joseph E. Kelley Law, in Chatham, where he focused on alternative dispute resolution.
Survivors and Funeral Arrangements
He is survived by his wife, Gwen; his son, Joe Kelley, who has served as a commissioner of the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey and as a deputy chief of staff to Gov. Murphy; his daughter, Krista; his brother, Dennis; and grandchildren. Funeral arrangements are pend...