Frank B. Keller, Jr.

Frank B. Keller, Jr. 84, of Topeka, passed away on Monday, May 16, 2005 at Aldersgate Village. He was born on August 1, 1920 in Lockwood, MO the son of Frank Beldon and Lillie Pyle Keller. He graduated from Lockwood High School in 1938. He attended Southwest Missouri State College in Springfield, MO while a member of the CCC and joined the Army in 1940. During WWII, he received a field commission from General McArthur while serving in Australia, New Guinea, the Philippines and Japan. He was a member of the Army Reserves until 1956. Mr. Keller worked in personnel management for government agencies in Missouri, Michigan, Illinois and Kansas. He was the Civilian Personnel Officer at Fort Riley for twelve years before retiring in 1975. He had attended the Army Management School, Thorton College and Kansas State University. He served a term as chairman of the Chicago Federal Personnel Council. In 1985, he was appointed Chairman of a Salary Evaluation Task Force by the Riley County Board of Commissioners, which resulted in a new employee pay system for county employees. After retiring, he founded Keller Strings which is currently owned by his daughter Paula.

Mr. Keller moved to Topeka in 1993. He was an ardent wood worker and had crafted many articles of furniture from walnut, including 30 grandfather clocks made from the lumber of trees he had cut himself. He was past president of the Manhattan Toastmasters International and the Men's Garden Club. He was a deacon at the First Christian Church and had been active in Little League Baseball. In Topeka, he had been a volunteer at Stormont-Vail Regional Hospital and the Colmery O'Neal VA Medical Center and was a member of NARFE. He married Roslyn Ragan in 1947 in Kansas City, KS. She preceded him in death. Survivors include a daughter, Madelyn Yeo of Ukiah, CA, a son, John Keller of Lawrence, a daughter, Paula Keller Smith of Topeka, five grandchildren and one brother, Evan Keller of Strafford, MO. Funeral services will be held at 11:00 a.m. Friday at Penwell-Gabel Mid Town Chapel. Burial will follow in Mission Center Cemetery. Mr. Keller will lie in state after Noon Thursday at Penwell-Gabel Mid Town Chapel. The casket will remain closed. Memorial contributions may be given to the Alzheimer's Association, 515 S. Kansas Ave., Suite B-2, Topeka, Ks. 66603.