David Wayne Kelleher, Sr.

David served in the United States Marine Corps for over 22 years. He started his Marine Corps career as an E-1 making it through the ranks to Gunnery Sergeant before being selected as Warrant Officer. He was then commissioned at the rank of Chief Warrant Officer 2, and finally retiring at the rank of Captain in 1994 at the end of his last tour at Marine Corps Air Station Futenma, Okinawa, Japan.  He was revered as an expert in his field of operations and maintenance of Air Defense systems along with Command, Control, Communication and Computer systems (specifically to Hawk radar and missile systems).

He was known for his love of country and technology, so it was no surprise that he ensured that his five children were Patriotic and also involved with new technological advances over the years to include the Commodore 64, Laserdisc, AOL Genie Chat, and so much more. After he retired from the military, he entered the cellular industry and helped to build out the switch and network operations with CDMA technology. Little known is that he was the sole inventor of Cellular Instant Messaging; USPTO patent number 7,412,231.

He attended and excelled in law school achieving his Juris Doctorate. After this accomplishment, he expanded his horizons and joined the world of teaching, deciding to utilize his Bachelor's degree in Physics and his knowledge of electronics to become a Science Teacher for Los Angeles Unified School District in which he earned LAX Coastal Region Teacher of the Year in April 2011. In his final years, he was able to tour the United States and conquered a lifelong dream. He lived his life to the fullest and only one word can describe him...Accomplished. 

While David left us unexpectedly in early June, he will always be remembered fondly by family and friends. 

https://www.nps.gov/deva/learn/news/fatality-2022-06-14.htm