Arno Keller

Funeral Service will be 11 am Monday, June 16, 2014 at the Ziemer-Moeglein-Shatava Funeral Home in Gilbert with Pastor Jerry Kosanovich officiating. A visitation will be held one hour prior to the service. Interment will take place in the Gilbert Cemetery. Life-long Gilbert resident, Arno Keller, died at the Essentia Health – Virginia Care Center 27 days before his 105th birthday. He grew up in Gilbert, the only son of Sam, a local blacksmith and Ellen Keller. Arno attended the Gilbert schools, Virginia Junior College, and the Milwaukee School of Engineering. During the years at Gilbert High School and VJC, Arno excelled at basketball, football, and track. After those years of schooling, Arno married Josephine Urick and their family expanded to six children, five of whom survive him: Ellen Keller, Nancy (David) Jelinek, Bob (Lynn) Keller, David Keller, Tom Keller, followed by ten grandchildren and eleven great grandchildren. After returning from the Milwaukee school, Arno began welding for the Corsica Mine in Elcor and stayed there until it closed. He then moved to the Erie Taconite Plant in Hoyt Lakes where, later on he became a welding foreman. Arno enjoyed his work but love for the woods seemed to be his priority. Along with his friends and his sons, as they grew older, he received great enjoyment from hunting, fishing, and just spending time with his potato garden at his shack in the woods. One of Arno’s major talents was being the fun father to little kids whether they were his own or others in the extended family and neighborhood. Arno was able to chop wood and shovel snow until he was 100 years old. He then moved into the Essentia Health Virginia Care Center which turned out to be a stay of over four years. Until a few months ago he was able to go for car rides around and near the Fairbanks area where he hunted and kept his garden. Arno was also very aware of the care he was receiving from the nurses and the aides at the nursing home. He liked their jokes, their kindness, and their great care of him. Arno’s family is grateful for the very good care for their dad. Arno was preceded in death by his wife, Josephine; his parents, Sam and Ellen Keller; his son, Bill; his daughters-in-law, Judy and Ellie Keller, and his sister Aileen Johnston.