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Alan Foster McKelvy

Alan McKelvy

BARRE, VT – Alan Foster McKelvy, age 68, former Marquette resident, passed away peacefully on January 10th, in the presence of family members, from complications due to Lewy Body Dementia.

The youngest child of James and Maryjean (Behoteguy) McKelvy, born in California in 1953, the family moved to Marquette in 1965. Alan attended Graveraet Middle School and was a 1971 graduate of Marquette Senior High School. He later received a degree from the University of Maine in Sociology and a degree in Environmental Studies from the Naropa Institute in Colorado.

Alan was a gentle, beautiful, instantly likeable person with a great sense of humor who was adored by his family and friends and will be greatly missed. He loved Marquette and is still remembered fondly by many Marquette residents. He was an excellent athlete who won the U.P. High School Doubles Tennis Championship with his lifelong friend, Jim Piasecki, in 1971. He was an enthusiastic nature lover and avid bird watcher, who assisted wildlife organizations in bird tracking.

Alan was also an exceptional musician. He came from a musical family. His father was choral director at NMU in the late sixties, his mother was an accomplished cellist and pianist, his sister is a vocalist and pianist and his brother is a musician and entertainer.

In spite of the fact that he had no formal musical training, he was a superb guitarist, pianist, and composer, who was also gifted with a beautiful voice. He developed his own unique style of music and in the mid seventies formed the McKelvy Brothers Band, with his brother, Michael, in Marquette. They performed all original music and also played together briefly in Los Angeles. Alan was also a counselor for several summers at Interlochen Arts Academy.

He eventually decided against a musical career in order to devote his full attention to raising a family, which he did successfully while living in Colorado and Maine.

He is survived by two daughters, Rebecca and Abigail, a former wife; Katherine Davis, stepmother; Courtenay Raymond McKelvy, sister; Mary Jean, and his brother; Michael.

He was preceded in death by his father and mother.

Samples of Alan’s music with some family photos, can be found on YouTube, under Alan McKelvy and on his brother’s YouTube channel, Michael McKelvy.

There are no plans for a Marquette service.