William Russell Kelly


William Russell "Russ" Kelly was the founder of the American temporary staffing agency, Russell Kelly Office Service, later known as Kelly Girl Service, Inc., then Kelly Services, Inc.

Early life

Born in Koksilah, British Columbia, he was the fifth of seven children born to Mary Agnes Bickel Kelly and James Watson Kelly. One obituary states "Upon graduation from Gulfcoast Military Academy in Gulfport, Miss. in 1922, Kelly, then 16, began attending Vanderbilt University and then the University of Pittsburgh.". Yet another states he was an undergraduate at the University of Pennsylvania.