Bobby Dale Keller
Bobby Dale Keller, 87, of Farber died Thursday, Feb. 9, 2017 at the Missouri Veterans Home in Mexico.
Funeral services were Monday at 10 a.m., at the Farber Presbyterian Church with the Rev. Dana Slavin officiating. Music was provided by Shirley Stubblefield – pianist. Interment was in Evergreen Memorial Gardens Cemetery in Vandalia with full military honors.
Visitation was Sunday from 3-5 p.m., at Waters Funeral Chapel in Vandalia.
He was born Sept. 3, 1929 in Vandalia, the son of William Carl and Edna Alice Smith Keller. He married Carol Elaine Haverich on Sept. 17, 1955 in Vandalia. She survives at the home.
Other survivors include two sons: Martin D. Keller and wife, Dana Evans Keller of Mexico and Todd A. Keller and wife, Dana Aggeler Keller of Farber; one sister, Helen Pease of Vandalia; five grandchildren, Lauren A. Keller, Gabrielle N. Keller, Devyn R. Keller, Mylee R. Keller and Slade W. Keller; also survived by several nieces and nephews.
He was preceded in death by a daughter, Sheila Loreece Keller; his parents; step-father, Fred Epperson; four brothers: Mayo Keller, Roy Keller, Melvin Epperson and Leo Keller who died in infancy; and one sister, Doris Reading.
Dale grew up in the Vandalia area and was a 1947 Vandalia High School graduate. After high school, he worked as a farmhand for a few years before being drafted into the United States Army during the Korean War. He served his country for nearly two years and then returned to Vandalia where he started working at Harbison-Walker Refractories.
He worked primarily as a machinist and retired on Jan. 3, 1992 after 37 years at Harbison-Walker.
Dale was a longtime member of the Farber Presbyterian Church, where he had served as an elder. He enjoyed hunting, spending time in the “Hundred Acre Woods,” reading, and tinkering with do-it-yourself projects.
Pallbearers were nephews Dwayne Reading, James Reading, Edward Reading, Howard Reading, Darwyn Pease, and Larry Pease. Honorary pallbearers were Bob Foree, George Carlson, and Randy Pease.
Memorials are encouraged to the Missouri Veterans Home in Mexico or to the Farber Presbyterian Church.
