David Kellough, Who Helped Found HARDI, Dies at 82

David Kellough, who helped unite the trade organizations that became Heating, Air-conditioning & Refrigeration Distributors International (HARDI), died February 22 at the age of 82.

Kellough, of London, Ohio, was born in Cincinnati and grew up on farms in Madison County, Ohio, and other nearby counties. He was a 1961 graduate of London High School and a 1966 graduate of Miami University in Oxford, Ohio.

He worked in corporate communications after college, and in 1975 became the communications director at the Northamerican Heating and Airconditioning Wholesalers Association (NAHW) in Columbus, Ohio, working with executive director James Wilder and director of education James “Bud” Healy. In 1982, he became the executive director of Air-conditioning & Refrigeration Wholesalers (ARW), headquartered in Florida.

In the early 2000s, Kellough was instrumental in uniting those organizations as HARDI. It was Kellough who came up with the name for the new organization and substituted the word “distributors” in place of “wholesalers,” according to information provided by the Eberle-Fisher Funeral Home in London.

Kellough also formed a company, Magellan Management Inc., to help local, state, regional, national, and international trade and professional associations. In retirement, he wrote books, including a novel, “Somewhere Warm — No Place Safe,” an autobiography, and a musical play.

Kellough is survived by three daughters, Stacia Clifton, Ranee Martin (Michael), and Nickelle Kellough-Menendez (Carlos); six grandchildren; a sister, Paula Cobb; and numerous nieces, nephews, and cousins. He was preceded in death by a son, Addam.

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