David L. Kelly; Irvine Business Leader

David Lawrence Kelly, an Irvine businessman and former president of the Orange County Round Table, has died. The former Irvine planning commissioner was 52.

Kelly was stopped at an intersection Tuesday morning while driving his son to Mater Dei High School in Santa Ana when he suffered a heart attack, said his wife, Barbara Kelly.

“He was peaceful and generous and had a great sense of humor,” she said. “He was always involved in the kids’ sports teams and was so proud to watch them play water polo or swim.”

Barbara Kelly said her husband loved sports and politics, but was happiest when he was with his children.

“David’s one of the kindest guys you’ll ever want to meet,” said friend Verlyn Jensen, an Irvine lawyer. “He had that lovable Midwestern humility. He was a stabilizing influence in all our lives.”

Kelly grew up in Chicago and graduated from St. Patrick’s High School, received his bachelor’s degree from Notre Dame University and his law degree from Georgetown University Law School.

He practiced law for a few years in Chicago and was an in-house counsel for a waste-hauling company that transferred him to California in 1987. In 1992, Kelly started Envirolaw Strategies and served as an environmental consultant for waste industries. He served five years on the Irvine Planning Commission and in 1998 was president of the Orange County Round Table, a social and civic organization.

“David was a wonderful guy to work with and was very understanding and tolerated all our different styles,” said Tom Blackman, a business associate who knew Kelly for 16 years. “We’ll miss the wisdom he brought to our decision-making process.”

Kelly is survived by his wife and their three children: Jessica, 22; Julia, 19; and Jonathan, 15.

Services will be held Saturday at 10 a.m. at St. Elizabeth Ann Seton Church in Irvine. In lieu of flowers, the family requests donations be made to the David Kelly Memorial Fund, care of Pam Swenson, AYCO Co., 17877 Von Karman Ave., Suite 500, Irvine, Calif. 92614.

Donations will be disbursed to Mater Dei, St. Patrick’s High School in Chicago and Notre Dame University in South Bend, Ind.