Augusta, GA – Mr. Charles David (Chuck) Keller passed away at his home in Augusta 26 days short of his 80th birthday from bone cancer. He was born on January 17, 1934 at the Keller family farm in Ford, Kansas to Harry Allison Keller and Mabel L. Keller. Chuck was preceded in death by his father; two brothers, Harry and Glenn; and his first wife of 16 years, Beverly Hyer.
He is survived by his wife of 34 years, Bobette Watson Keller; his mother, Mabel L. Keller (98) of Dodge City, Kansas; sons, Craig Keller (Sherri) of Grand Junction, CO, and John Kuhn III (Corey) of Richmond IN; daughters, Amy Oetting (Greg) of Augusta and Sherry Lukits (Stefan) of Vancouver, BC, Canada; twelve grandchildren and two great grandchildren.
Chuck graduated from Ford High School (KS) in 1952 and from Kansas State University in 1956 with dual majors in Animal Science and Agronomy. He was a member of the Second Place Team at the International Crop Judging Competition in Chicago which was a great honor. He was a member of both the Alpha Zeta and the Farm House fraternities. After college he served in the US Army Veterinary Service Corps in Korea and at Fort Ord, CA. Following military service he joined the Hormel Foods Corporation where he worked for 33 years as a livestock buyer and manager of three beef packaging plants. He was active in many community and trade organizations and represented Hormel Foods as a judge in the FFA National Star Farmer Award competition in Kansas City, KS.
Chuck accepted Jesus Christ as his Lord and Savior at an early age and his service to God has always been his top priority. He joined Warren Baptist Church shortly after moving to Augusta in 1996. He has served faithfully as a deacon, choir member and Koinonia Bible study small group leader. He went on nine mission trips to Ecuador, Mexico and Swaziland (Africa). He was an active Gideon and greatly enjoyed distributing Bibles in Augusta, GA.
He was a tenderhearted and generous person. He enjoyed his family and friends, traveling, fishing, yard and garden work, construction and home repair/improvement. He dearly loved his wife and family and his prayer is that those who are unsaved will accept Jesus as their Savior.
Memorials in lieu of flowers may be made to the Gideons or to Warren Baptist Church missions.
The service to celebrate his life will be held at 12:30 PM on Saturday, December 28, 2013 at Warren Baptist Church with Rev. Dr. David McKinley officiating. The family will receive friends at Warren Baptist Church Worship Center from 11:00 until 12:30 prior to the service.
The graveside service and burial will be at the Ford Cemetery in Chuck’s hometown of Ford, KS, on December 30th.