Estel Wood "Ed" Kelley (1917–2003) is considered the "modern-day" founder of

Steak 'n Shake Steak 'n Shake Operations, Inc. (doing business as Steak 'n Shake) is an American casual restaurant chain concentrated primarily in the Midwestern United States with locations also in the South, Mid-Atlantic and Western United States, Europe, ...

, a chain of sit-down, old-fashioned style restaurants known for their Steakburgers and hand-dipped milkshakes. In 1981, E. W. Kelley & Associates, a group led by E. W. Kelley, bought controlling interest in

, and grew the company from a small chain to the more than 450 location chain it is today (2006). Originally from

Sharpsville, Indiana Sharpsville is a town in Liberty Township, Tipton County, in the U.S. state of Indiana. The community is part of the Kokomo, Indiana Metropolitan Statistical Area. As of the 2010 census, Sharpsville's population is 607. History The town was ...

, Kelley attended

Indiana University Indiana University (IU) is a system of public universities in the U.S. state of Indiana. Campuses Indiana University has two core campuses, five regional campuses, and two regional centers under the administration of IUPUI. * Indiana Univers ...

's (IU) School of Business in the 1930s. While at IU, he founded the Accounting Club, chaired IU Sing, was president of the IU student body, and was a member of

Sigma Chi Sigma Chi () International Fraternity is one of the largest North American fraternal literary societies. The fraternity has 244 active (undergraduate) chapters and 152 alumni chapters across the United States and Canada and has initiated more tha ...

fraternity A fraternity (from Latin ''frater'': "brother"; whence, "brotherhood") or fraternal organization is an organization, society, club or fraternal order traditionally of men associated together for various religious or secular aims. Fraternity in ...

. He graduated in 1939. Kelley ran

Bird's Eye Birds Eye is an American international brand of frozen foods owned by Conagra Brands in the United States, by Nomad Foods in Europe, and Simplot in Australia. The former Birds Eye Company Ltd., originally named "Birdseye Seafood, Inc." had be ...

, a division of

General Foods General Foods Corporation was a company whose direct predecessor was established in the United States by Charles William Post as the Postum Cereal Company in 1895. The company changed its name to "General Foods" in 1929, after several corporate ...

, and thought up adding pearl onions to frozen peas. He later headed Fairmont Foods, where he helped develop the

Klondike Bar A Klondike bar is a Good Humor-Breyers ice cream novelty consisting of a square of ice cream coated with a thin layer of chocolate. History The Klondike bar was created by the Isaly Dairy Company of Mansfield, Ohio in the early 1920s and named ...

, directed the roll-outs of

Tang Tang or TANG most often refers to: * Tang dynasty * Tang (drink mix) Tang or TANG may also refer to: Chinese states and dynasties * Jin (Chinese state) (11th century – 376 BC), a state during the Spring and Autumn period, called Tang (唐) b ...

and

Cool Whip Cool Whip is an American brand of imitation whipped cream, referred to as a '' whipped topping'' by its manufacturer, Kraft Heinz. It is used in North America as a topping for desserts, and in some no-bake pie recipes as a convenience food or ing ...

, created parts of the Lean Cuisine line, and brought

Grey Poupon Grey Poupon is a brand of Dijon mustard which originated in Dijon, France. The U.S. rights to the brand were acquired by the Heublein Company, later passing on to Kraft Foods. Grey Poupon became popular in the United States in the late 1970s an ...

America The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territor ...

. He was founding partner of Kelley & Partners, Ltd. and taught at the

Columbia Business School Columbia Business School (CBS) is the business school of Columbia University, a private research university in New York City. Established in 1916, Columbia Business School is one of six Ivy League business schools and is one of the oldest busin ...

. Kelley was always philanthropic, giving millions of dollars to IU and Howard Community Hospital, now known as

Community Howard Regional Health Community Howard Regional Health is a hospital located in Kokomo, Indiana Kokomo ( ) is a city in Indiana and the county seat of Howard County, Indiana, United States. It is the principal city of the Kokomo, Indiana Metropolitan Statistic ...

, in

Kokomo, Indiana Kokomo ( ) is a city in Indiana and the county seat of Howard County, Indiana, United States. It is the principal city of the Kokomo, Indiana Metropolitan Statistical Area, which includes all of Howard County, the Kokomo-Peru CSA, which includ ...

. He donated to Indiana University-Kokomo, (IUK), for the Kelley Student Center, Kelley House, the library building and the E. W. Kelley Scholarship fund. He gave money in 1999 to establish the E. W. Kelley Chair in Business Administration at IU Bloomington, and $23 million to establish the IU Bloomington's Business School's Kelley Scholars program in 1997, which led IU to rename the School of Business to the

Kelley School of Business The Kelley School of Business (KSB) is an undergraduate and graduate business school at Indiana University in Bloomington, Indiana and Indianapolis, Indiana, United States. , approximately 7,500 full-time undergraduate and graduate students are ...

. He also supported the Bloomington campus' Alumni center, School of Music, the Mellencamp Pavilion, and the Alva Prickett Chair in Accounting. E. W. Kelley maintained a home in Sharpsville until his death, and also a home in

Florida Florida is a state located in the Southeastern region of the United States. Florida is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the northwest by Alabama, to the north by Georgia, to the east by the Bahamas and Atlantic Ocean, a ...

. He had turned the old family farm, located on

U.S. Route 31 U.S. Route 31 or U.S. Highway 31 (US 31) is a major north–south U.S. highway connecting southern Alabama to northern Michigan. Its southern terminus is at an intersection with US 90/ US 98 in Spanish Fort, Alabama. ...

about 6 miles south of Kokomo, Indiana, into the

Kelley Historical Agricultural Museum Kelley may refer to: * Kelley (name), a given name and surname Places ;United States * Kelley, Iowa * Kelley Hill in Fort Benning, Georgia * Kelley Park, in San Jose, California * Kelley Square, in Worcester, Massachusetts * Kelley Township, R ...

. Other family interests include Kelley Farms, which has since merged with

Adler Seeds Adler Seeds is an American company that was founded in 1937 by Howard Adler, in Sharpsville, Indiana. Adler Seeds was formerly known as George Adler & Sons until later when it was then incorporated and called Adler Seeds. By 1993 Howard Alder h ...

of Sharpsville, just across the road from the E. W. Kelley home. Kelley Farms was run by E. W.'s brother Bill Kelley, who also owned Shady Kennels and the former Red Carpet Motel outside of Sharpsville. Adler Seeds was founded by neighbor and friend Howard Adler. E. W. Kelley died on Friday, July 4, 2003, at the age of 86.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Kelley, E.W. 1917 births 2003 deaths American food industry business executives Indiana University alumni People from Tipton County, Indiana Philanthropists from Indiana 20th-century American philanthropists