'Nothing Fazes Him'

By Michelle Bradford
Arkansas Democrat-Gazette

Connie Hendrix-Kral and her husband, Tim, sought Kelley's help in adopting a child in 1994. Kelley came highly recommended, and Hendrix-Kral had a cousin in Florida who'd adopted through him. The couple was 23rd on a waiting list when Kelley called with some news. "Gene said a Texas couple was giving up their one-month-old baby," Hendrix-Kral recalls. "We raced over and waited for hours and hours. Then, Gene started getting conflicting information, and he said, 'My advice is you pull out.' We agreed. It was right before Thanksgiving. I closed the door to my nursery. It was very, very painful. You just want a baby so bad."

A few months later, seated near Kelley at an Arkansas Razorbacks basketball game, Hendrix-Kral saw him rise and leave the arena suddenly. His departure led to the arrival of their daughter, Bethany, who is now 11. "Gene's got this air of utter unflappability," Hendrix-Kral says. "Nothing fazes him. He just handles it. After we got a peek of Bethany in the hospital, we all went to dinner. Gene talked about his reasons for adoption work. He said that finding good homes for these children is very important to him."

Seated in a spacious conference room of dark wood at the Kelley Law Firm, Kelley is a striking man of 6-foot-3 with a swoop of silver hair. His look on this day is impeccable: camel's-hair suit, silk tie of peach and pink and leather shoes with skinny laces. His face crinkles into a smile when he talks about the children he has placed in homes. "These couples have showered their children with love, attention and affection, and it's superlative," Kelley says. "We don't look for couples who are blue bloods or movie stars. I want down-to-earth people, someone who will provide a good, stable home based on a religion of kindness and respect."

Kelley is a member of the American Academy of Adoption Attorneys and has served as their spokesman on issues involving international and domestic adoption. He charges between $20,000 to $25,000 per case, he says. The birth mother meets certain qualifications, and parties agree to terms involving their identities. "The event is a transaction, yes; 'Here's your baby.' But I feel a responsibility to see that each child is going to a good home," he says. "A lot of my kids are adults now, and I see them out in different venues. Some of them don't know who I am, and I don't feel at liberty to say."

Kelley works to facilitate communication between the birth mother and adoptive parents. Many of the mothers, he says, stop any agreed-upon communication within a year or so after the adoption. "It's not because they don't care, it's because they're secure their baby is safe and in good hands."