TRIBUTES have been paid to a “headstrong and loving” grandad who spent more than 50 years at the helm of a cafe at Westcliff’s iconic Arches. 

Stanley Kelly, 91, is to be laid to rest on Monday He was well known in the community after spending more than 51 years running the Riviera before he sold the business during the Covid pandemic in 2021. 

Together - Stanley and Susan Together - Stanley and Susan (Image: Elizabeth Kelly) Remembered as the “head of his family” by his relatives and as a “perfect gentleman who always put his family first”, his family are left heartbroken by his death last month.

Stanley’s wife of 46 years, Susan Kelly, has called him the “most wonderful human being” and has reflected on having to carry on without “her soulmate.”

She said: “Stanley touched so many lives, he was always that person, always upfront and he stepped up and did whatever was to be done.

“He did whatever he could, it was within his nature and we always said that at 90 years-old, he was old school but he was like that all his life.

"He was there for family and any individual that needed help, no question.

“It was an instant thing that was in his nature.

Family - Stanley with his family at Christmas Family - Stanley with his family at Christmas (Image: Elizabeth Kelly) Family - Elizabeth, Susan, Stanley and their family Family - Elizabeth, Susan, Stanley and their family (Image: Elizabeth Kelly)

“I now have to carry on without my soulmate, he was such a gentleman, he was the head of the family and always put them first and he was such a huge pillar of the community.

“He had a strong character that people would like, they would go to the café and they would always want to come back in.”

Susan added that ties between Stanley and his customers were so strong, he would stay open on Christmas Eve into Christmas, waiting for dependable regulars who always showed out for the business as they travelled to Southend.

Remembered - Stanley Kelly Remembered - Stanley Kelly (Image: Elizabeth Kelly)

Elizabeth Kelly, Stanley’s granddaughter, added: “He was such a happy person to be around and even at the end, he was welcoming, funny and warm.

“To lose him is to lose a massive part of our family and we must now find a new way of going on.”

To add your own tributes, stanleykelly.muchloved.com/TributePages/Contribute/