Obituaries

Robert Kelly Lutz passed away on October 25th, 2022, at the age of 63. He is survived by his son Ryan, his daughter Madison, step-mother Barbara, sister Karen, and current partner of 12 years, Lori.

Kelly was born in Albuquerque, New Mexico on November 17th, 1958. He attended Manzano High School where he ran cross country and met his future wife and partner of 29 years, Chris. Kelly came from a family of aviators and set his sights on attending the Air Force Academy, a goal he achieved in 1980. He graduated first in his major of Aviation Sciences and proudly flew F-15s, later becoming an instructor at Luke Air Force Base. In 1988 he joined Northwest Airlines as a DC-9 Co-pilot, and quickly moved through the ranks to Captain. He flew with Northwest, and later Delta, for 34 years. He loved nothing more than to be in the air, and logged over 26,000 hours of flying time during his aviation career (3 entire years spent in the sky). He created a home for himself in Austin, where he loved to spend time at the lake, enjoy a good cup of coffee, and pet any dog he came across. He always wore a pink tie and epaulets during October. He was immensely proud of his children. He was a caring, loving man and will be missed more than words can say.

Kelly was a lover of all furry friends and would go out of his way to pet any dog he saw or rescue any animal in need. In lieu of flowers, the family requests donations be made to the New Mexico Animal Humane Society. https://animalhumanenm.givecloud.co/give.