William "Bill" Keller

William (Bill) Keller was born January 30, 1944, in Brooklyn, NY to Ethel and Ernest Keller. He was the youngest of 4 children.

Bill attended Concordia Jr. College, Bronxville, NY; Concordia Sr. College, Ft. Wayne, IN; served his vicarage at St. Matthews Lutheran, Columbia Heights, MN, and graduated from Concordia Seminary, St. Louis in 1969. Shortly before his vicarage, Bill and Karen married in 1967 in her hometown of Grand Rapids, MN.

Bill's first call was to begin a church in Chelsea, MI. While establishing the congregation, Bill and Karen also began their family with the birth of their son Tim and daughter Kristin.

In 1978, Bill accepted a call to Bethany Lutheran Church in Omaha, NE, where he served for 17 years. While at Bethany, Bill partnered with a nearby high school to develop community support to provide students ways to stay drug-free. Bill and Karen's youngest son, Jeff, was born while in Omaha. All three children were confirmed by Bill at Bethany. Bill was proud of the music ministry provided by his wife and children.

1995 found Bill and Karen were unable to resist the draw of the Rocky Mountains and accepted a call to Trinity Lutheran in Greeley, Colorado. Bill was blessed to have the opportunity to baptize his two youngest grandchildren, Jacob and Brynlee.

After retirement, Bill worked his way up from sewing "man bags" to quilting with the help of the Trinity and Redeemer quilting groups. One of his highlights was making t-shirt quilts as graduation gifts for his three oldest grandchildren.

Bill had a personality that could fill a room making those around him feel loved. His unshakeable faith encouraged others. Bill enjoyed laughter and faced all challenges with a sense of humor. This remained especially true throughout his long illness and journey through hospice. Bill graciously received friends and left them with a sense of peace and joy. He told Karen "It's been a great kickoff," and excitedly told his daughter, "Just wait until it's your turn to go through this. With your sense of humor, you are going to love it."

Bill was preceded in death by his son, Jeff, his sisters Ethel and Dot, and parents Ethel and Ernest. Bill is survived by Karen his wife of 55 years, his sister Elsie Garbe of Vermont, his children Timothy (wife Kelly) of Omaha, Kristin Deicke (husband Carl) of Omaha, and five grandchildren: Jordan (wife Michaela) of Ohio, Kathryn Wisner (husband Clay) of West Virginia, Daniel of Omaha, Jacob, Brynlee, and their mother, Jen of Colorado Springs.

In lieu of flowers, the family suggests that memorial contributions may be made for scholarships to Trinity Lutheran School, and Redeemer Lutheran Preschool.

The memorial service will be held at 11 am, Thursday, December 22, 2022 at Redeemer Lutheran Church in Fort Collins. The live stream can be found here: https://live.redeemerconnect.com/