Maria Elizabeth Kelly
April 19, 2023
by Mark Kelly
Maria Elizabeth Kelly was a Korean-American artist, book publisher, film producer, and entrepreneur. She was born Gai Sun Jang in Gwangdeok Buddhist Temple in Cheonan City, Chungcheongnamdo, South Korea, at the height of the Korean War. When her family had to flee their home to escape the communist invasion they took refuge in the temple where Gai Sun was born on December 12, 1950 (the 4th day of the 11th month of the Tiger Year 1950). She was the only child ever born there. She celebrated her birthday on November 4, rather than December 12, because all her official documents used the lunar calendar, thus 11/4.
After the war her family resided in the cities of Cheonan and Asan where she attended public schools. After High School she initially attended Dongduk Women's University before transferring to Sangmyung University in Seoul where she graduated 5th in her class in 1974. She then worked as an art teacher at a rural middle school outside Seoul.
In December 1973 she met Mark Kelly, an American soldier assigned as a medic at the 121st US Army Hospital in Seoul. They were married in Seoul in 1974 and she gave birth to their first child, Michael Sun Kelly in July 1975. The family returned to the US in December 1975.
In 1977, to support her husband while he was in grad school, she got a job in the engineering department of Data General Corporation. There she assembled circuit boards for the secret Eclipse/MV minicomputer project, memorialized later in Tracy Kidder's 1980 Pulitzer Prize winning book, The Soul of a New Machine.
The family then resided in Harwichport on Cape Cod, Massachusetts where they lived after her second child Jennifer Moon Kelly was born in January, 1979. In 1980 she became a US citizen. At that time she changed her name to Maria Elizabeth which was the Christian name she had taken when she was baptized a Catholic at the age of 13. Later that year they moved to Los Angeles where she worked as a teller for Bank of America and raised her children.
In 1990 she co-founded the book publishing company Burning Gate Press with her husband. They published seventeen books in three years, among them the critically acclaimed titles, Racing Alone, Seven Six One and Sisters on the Bridge of Fire. Maria designed most of the covers for the company's books.
As a company they transitioned to new technology and in 1994 they launched DirectNet, one of the first Internet Service Providers in Southern California. Maria served as Controller then as Chief Financial Officer of the new company until 1996 when she applied to and was accepted at American Film Institute (AFI) in Los Angeles. In the Producing Track there she produced four student films and a feature screenplay about the Kwangju uprising of May 1980. She received her Master's Degree from AFI in 1998.
She launched Fifty Tigers Entertainment in 2000 (as Maria Jang Kelly) with a plan to develop original scripts for feature films. She named her business Fifty Tigers because both she and her husband were born in the Tiger Year, 1950. In 2006 she produced House Under Siege, starring Jeremy London, Bret Roberts and Sally Kirkland. The film was released by Marvista Entertainment in 2009.
Maria also worked in cosmetics retail for Nordstrom from 2005 until she retired in 2018 when she and her husband moved to Henderson, Nevada.
Maria suffered from ill health from 2009 when she was first diagnosed with lymphoma. After the lymphoma spread to her lungs she frequently battled pneumonia, being hospitalized for it multiple times. Her daughter Jennifer was stricken with colon cancer in 2015 and died from it in November 2016. Maria was considered in remission from lymphoma in 2018, but became ill again in November 2022. She suspected it was the lymphoma resurgent, or possibly colon cancer like her daughter, but was diagnosed with gastric cancer of the stomach in January of this year. Because the cancer was already stage 4 and incurable, she chose not to take chemotherapy, but rather to enter hospice at home. She died peacefully, with family at her side, on Easter Sunday, April 9, 2023.
Maria was a strong supporter of her church, Cathedral Chapel of St. Vibiana Catholic Church in Los Angeles, singing in the choir and acting as Eucharistic Minister for many years. She was also the head of the annual Christmas Fundraising event for ten years. In 2004 she chaired the Parish's 75th anniversary event which drew over 500 attendees at the new Cathedral of Our Lady of the Angels.
Maria also supported the Los Angeles Mission and, since moving to Henderson, the Las Vegas Mission. Maria would encourage donations to either Mission in her name.
She loved to travel and had many destinations in mind for her future. She considered her pilgrimage to The Holy Land in 2017 the greatest travel experience of her life. The photo on this site was taken in front of the Korean plaque for the Basilica of the Annunciation in Nazareth.
Most importantly, she was a beloved daughter, sister, wife, mother, aunt, and friend. She was and continues to be treasured in the hearts of all who knew her.
After the war her family resided in the cities of Cheonan and Asan where she attended public schools. After High School she initially attended Dongduk Women's University before transferring to Sangmyung University in Seoul where she graduated 5th in her class in 1974. She then worked as an art teacher at a rural middle school outside Seoul.
In December 1973 she met Mark Kelly, an American soldier assigned as a medic at the 121st US Army Hospital in Seoul. They were married in Seoul in 1974 and she gave birth to their first child, Michael Sun Kelly in July 1975. The family returned to the US in December 1975.
In 1977, to support her husband while he was in grad school, she got a job in the engineering department of Data General Corporation. There she assembled circuit boards for the secret Eclipse/MV minicomputer project, memorialized later in Tracy Kidder's 1980 Pulitzer Prize winning book, The Soul of a New Machine.
The family then resided in Harwichport on Cape Cod, Massachusetts where they lived after her second child Jennifer Moon Kelly was born in January, 1979. In 1980 she became a US citizen. At that time she changed her name to Maria Elizabeth which was the Christian name she had taken when she was baptized a Catholic at the age of 13. Later that year they moved to Los Angeles where she worked as a teller for Bank of America and raised her children.
In 1990 she co-founded the book publishing company Burning Gate Press with her husband. They published seventeen books in three years, among them the critically acclaimed titles, Racing Alone, Seven Six One and Sisters on the Bridge of Fire. Maria designed most of the covers for the company's books.
As a company they transitioned to new technology and in 1994 they launched DirectNet, one of the first Internet Service Providers in Southern California. Maria served as Controller then as Chief Financial Officer of the new company until 1996 when she applied to and was accepted at American Film Institute (AFI) in Los Angeles. In the Producing Track there she produced four student films and a feature screenplay about the Kwangju uprising of May 1980. She received her Master's Degree from AFI in 1998.
She launched Fifty Tigers Entertainment in 2000 (as Maria Jang Kelly) with a plan to develop original scripts for feature films. She named her business Fifty Tigers because both she and her husband were born in the Tiger Year, 1950. In 2006 she produced House Under Siege, starring Jeremy London, Bret Roberts and Sally Kirkland. The film was released by Marvista Entertainment in 2009.
Maria also worked in cosmetics retail for Nordstrom from 2005 until she retired in 2018 when she and her husband moved to Henderson, Nevada.
Maria suffered from ill health from 2009 when she was first diagnosed with lymphoma. After the lymphoma spread to her lungs she frequently battled pneumonia, being hospitalized for it multiple times. Her daughter Jennifer was stricken with colon cancer in 2015 and died from it in November 2016. Maria was considered in remission from lymphoma in 2018, but became ill again in November 2022. She suspected it was the lymphoma resurgent, or possibly colon cancer like her daughter, but was diagnosed with gastric cancer of the stomach in January of this year. Because the cancer was already stage 4 and incurable, she chose not to take chemotherapy, but rather to enter hospice at home. She died peacefully, with family at her side, on Easter Sunday, April 9, 2023.
Maria was a strong supporter of her church, Cathedral Chapel of St. Vibiana Catholic Church in Los Angeles, singing in the choir and acting as Eucharistic Minister for many years. She was also the head of the annual Christmas Fundraising event for ten years. In 2004 she chaired the Parish's 75th anniversary event which drew over 500 attendees at the new Cathedral of Our Lady of the Angels.
Maria also supported the Los Angeles Mission and, since moving to Henderson, the Las Vegas Mission. Maria would encourage donations to either Mission in her name.
She loved to travel and had many destinations in mind for her future. She considered her pilgrimage to The Holy Land in 2017 the greatest travel experience of her life. The photo on this site was taken in front of the Korean plaque for the Basilica of the Annunciation in Nazareth.
Most importantly, she was a beloved daughter, sister, wife, mother, aunt, and friend. She was and continues to be treasured in the hearts of all who knew her.
