Celebrating the life of PHSS’s founder
· Harry Kelton ·
On Tuesday, August 23rd, our community lost a friend and passionate wildlife advocate. Harry Kelton, the founder of Pelican Harbor Seabird Station, passed away peacefully at the age of 96. Harold Van Smith Kelton was born May 3, 1926, in Raleigh, NC., the son of John B and Mabel Smith Kelton. He graduated from Purdue University in 1948 and moved to North Bay Village in 1970 where he worked as a mechanical engineer until 1996 for several businesses, including designing broilers for Burger King Corp.
When Harry and his wife of 48 years, Darlene, founded PHSS in 1980, the field of wildlife rehabilitation was in its early stages. Harry helped to revolutionize the rehabilitation and care of Brown Pelicans and was instrumental in helping bolster their population by releasing more than 7,000 during a time when they were still on the endangered species list. Harry was extremely respected within the field and served on the board of the International Wildlife Rehabilitation Council for nearly a decade.
Harry and Darlene developed a special medical procedure called “the cotton fish” where they would stuff fish with cotton balls, and feed it to a sick pelican with a hook in its stomach. Once the fish was digested, the cotton would cover the fish hook and in many cases, the pelican would regurgitate it. Harry taught many veterinarians and wildlife rehabbers this technique at conferences over the decades. Pelican Harbor Seabird Station is Miami’s native wildlife hospital and has treated over 39,000 native wildlife patients, including over 9,000 pelicans. Harry served on the Board of Directors until 2019.
Harry is survived by two sons, Robert Kelton of Hollywood, FL, and John Kelton of Zebulon, NC. He was preceded in death by his wife and co-founder of PHSS, Darlene Kelton in 2003, his stepson David Buckwalter in 1994, and his stepdaughter Kaye Taylor in 2017. He is survived by seven grandchildren and four great-grandchildren.
On Thursday, November 3rd, 2022, we held a Celebration of Life to honor Harry and the legacy he and Darlene left behind. You can view the event live stream above and photos from the event below. If you have any photos or memories of Harry, we invite you to share them through our digital memorial so that we may remember him through the eyes of all who loved him. In lieu of flowers, donations to the Harry and Darlene Kelton Brown Pelican Fund can be made below.
