Background
Kellman, Joseph was born on January 7, 1920 in Chicago, Illinois, United States. Son of Jacob and Celia (Weinstein) Kellman.
Kellman, Joseph was born on January 7, 1920 in Chicago, Illinois, United States. Son of Jacob and Celia (Weinstein) Kellman.
Graduate, Plamondon Primary School, Chicago, 1934. Doctor of Education (honorary), National College Education, Chicago, 1989.
Eventually, the brothers parted ways and the company was split into manufacturing and retailing. Kellman developed the two small shops over the next 45 years into Globe Glass and Mirror. At one point the country's largest auto glass chain, in 1997, it merged with Safelite AutoGlass, which is part of Belron US.
An owner and breeder of Thoroughbred racehorses, as part of his bloodstock Joseph Kellman owned the broodmare, Lester's Pride.
He named her foals after his friends in the entertainment industry. In 1973 Kellman met with considerable success with Shecky Greene, named for the comedian, Shecky Greene. Among his wins, the colt captured the 1973 Hutcheson Stakes, Fountain of Youth Stakes, Arlington-Washington Futurity Stakes, and the Stepping Stone Purse en route to earning 1973 American Champion Sprint Horse honors.
A fan of the sport of boxing, Kellman promoted and managed boxers during the 1960s. His interest in boxing and his long-burning desire to put something back into his old neighborhood began his lifetime of civic involvement. In 1961, with the help of Buddy Hackett, Kellman founded the to help one of the nation’s most disadvantaged inner city neighborhoods.
The offers youth participants tutoring and mentoring for academic enhancement and high school graduation, leadership training, cultural diversity and social skills training. In 1988 he established the country’s first business-sponsored elementary school, the Kellman Corporate Community School in impoverished North Lawndale. The philosophy behind the project was to applying the techniques that are common in business to public education and to improve the learning environment in inner-city public schools.
The school has been innovative in its use of computer technology and implementing 1-to-1 learning methods. Since the establishment of the school the primarily African-American residents of the neighborhood have enjoyed a truly different school working in close partnership with the to improve the quality of life for North Lawndale youth and their families.
Founder Better Boys Foundation, Chicago, 1961, Corporation/Community Schools American, Chicago, 1988. Board directors Special Children's Charities, Chicago, since 1989. Member Businessmen for Professional Interest (board directors), National Glass Association, Auto Glass Industry Council, B'nai B'rith.
Married Marjorie Lewin, June 6, 1941 (divorced May 1983, deceased). Children: Jack, Celia (deceased), Richard. Married Lou Ann Hancock, June 16, 1983.
