Grandma Keller

Sixty fifth wedding anniversary the whole gang
(except John's not here cause he wasn't in the gang just yet!)

Grandma Keller passed away last night in Topkea, Kansas. She is Pete's dad's mother and I always found her to be a joy to be around! She's the one who sent me packages full of her delicious cinnamon rolls simply because she knew how much I loved them! I still have one loaf in the freezer. I'll probably save it for a long time, maybe a special occasion.

She'd send a notecard via snail mail about once a month, sending her well-wishes and catching us up with the news of Topeka fam - one of the very few people who still send me hand-written notes via the U.S. Postal Service! I've saved most of them, if not all.

Eloise (Grandma's name) and her husband Ken Keller celebrated their 65th wedding anniversary within the past couple of years! Ken just turned 96 years young about a month or so ago! Pete and I have always admired how long their lives have been and how many of those years spent together in marriage and we strive to be just like them!

I would love to tell you when she was born, how she was raised and other such info about her long life (she was in her late 80's, maybe early 90's when she passed) but I don't know much about her past as of yet. I hope to learn more about her as we meet people and reflect on her happy life amongst her family and friends while we're here in Topeka (Kansas City, first, then an hour drive to Topeka) for her funeral. Grandpa always has a wealth of great war-time stories to tell, so I'll collect those, too! When we get home I'll share with you some of what I learned.

She is survived by her son Frank Keller and daughter Marti Fairbank, their spouses, and three grandchildren: Lindsay (Sullivan) and Pete Keller, and Dan Fairbank. Lindsay is a newly wed to John Sullivan and they just spent the past week on their honeymoon in Jamaica! Pete's married to me, as you well know. Neither Lindsay and John nor Pete and I have any children YET! Dan Fairbank and his wife Katie, on the other hand, has a spunky set of twins who just turned 6 and a darling young adult Sally who I believe is 9 (?).

Some pictures of me, Pete and Ken and Eloise at Christmas 2002 (we were not married yet):

We miss you, Grandma! Rest in peace.

P.S. Pete and I are in Topeka now, visiting with family for a few days before Grandma's services on Wednesday. We'll fly home Thursday. We've been trying to get out here for a visit the past four months but my chemo schedule and body just weren't cooperating! It's good to be here with everyone we love but the circumstances really suck. (There's really no better way to describe it!)