Bernice K Keller

She was born on July 8, 1924, in Greenfield, Iowa, to Ord and Elsie Martin, the second of four surviving children.

Bernice grew up during the Great Depression in Greenfield and as a child never traveled much beyond Adair County. But shortly after she married Jack Arthur Keller on December 2, 1945, the geographic and cultural boundaries of her world expanded exponentially. At the end of World War II, Bernice – along with six-month-old daughter, Ruth – followed her husband to Germany where he was with the occupation army as a pilot and finance officer in the Army Air Corps during the Berlin Airlift. While living in Germany, daughter Susan was born.

Upon returning to the States, Bernice and Jack and their two little girls lived on a rented farm near Indianola, Iowa, while he attended college under the G.I. Bill. He raised hogs to be sold to butchers in town and she planted, harvested, and canned vegetables to feed their young family.

When Jack finished school and accepted a position with the accounting firm Arthur Andersen & Company, the family moved to Kansas City, Kansas, where two more children – Jack Jr and Barbara – were born.

In 1959, the family moved to Seattle, which Bernice would call home for the rest of her life. With Jack and their children, she made the most of the scenic beauty of the Pacific Northwest over the years, enjoying camping, backpacking, boating, and salmon fishing many summer weekends. She enjoyed traveling to Europe and Israel with Jack and to China after his passing.

Bernice was a loving mother for her four children. She taught them numerous life skills, perhaps none more important than the realization that playtime is sweeter if the chores are done first. Her voracious reading instilled a lifelong love of reading in each of them. Among other roles, she served as a Cub Scout den mother, a Girl Scout troop leader, and a frequent chauffeur to All- City Band rehearsals.

She believed in the importance of community service ... voting regularly, working at the election polls for many years, riding the bus downtown weekly to sort donations at Evangeline, a respite center for homeless women, driving cancer patients for treatment, helping to facilitate CPR training, and volunteering at the Seattle Genealogical Society. She had a passion for investigating our family genealogy.

For more than five decades Bernice was an active member of Crown Hill United Methodist Church. She exemplified stewardship through her dedicated love, energy, and service to the church. She taught Sunday school and vacation Bible school. She took an active role in the Women’s Society for Christian Service (later United Methodist Women), including at the conference level where she was treasurer, and she served in several local church leadership roles, most recently church treasurer and trustee. When Crown Hill UMC closed, she transferred her membership to Haller Lake United Methodist Church. Most importantly, she was in worship very nearly every Sunday of her adult life. Because she and Jack took their Christian faith seriously, their children learned to do the same.

Bernice was a wonderful, practical woman who was always learning. She grew up in a house that was simple; there was water and electricity, but no indoor toilet. Most food came from the family garden. Radio provided news and entertainment. Television would not be invented until her adult years. Personal computers and the Internet didn’t even exist until she was half a century old – but she taught herself how to make effective use of the new technology. She didn’t have the luxury of a college education, but she and Jack sent all their children to college – and took great pleasure in discussing with them the ideas they brought home from college. Her love of practical learning extended into the next generation, too. A visit with her grandchildren invariably included a trip to the library. She showed them how riding buses could open up a city. And she taught them the value of writing letters by example and encouragement.

After Jack left his career as an accountant to start a wedding photography business, Bernice took on the role of office manager to help him. She attended every wedding that Jack photographed, assisting with both formal portraits and spontaneous candid shots for each couple.

Bernice enjoyed assembling jigsaw puzzles and shared this pastime with her children. Perhaps this is a fitting metaphor for her life—curiosity, focus, patience, and teamwork help create both a beautiful puzzle and a fulfilling life.

In addition to her parents and three siblings (Marjorie Crabb, Bill Martin, and Thelma Galbraith), Bernice was preceded in death by her husband, Jack Keller, Sr and her daughter Barbara Keller.

She is survived by daughters Ruth McFadden (William) of Seattle and Susan Dean (Donald) of Sacramento, California; son Jack Keller, Jr (Cherie) of Nashville, Tennessee; grandsons Kevin Dean (Nicole) of Portland, Oregon and Ryan Dean (Mary) of Santa Rosa, California; and granddaughters Juliana Ewing (James) of Omaha, Nebraska and Kayleigh Keller of Fort Collins, Colorado; grandsons Peter McFadden (Gracia) of Omak, Washington, Robert (Leslie) McFadden of Scottsdale, Arizona, Ty McFadden of Seattle, nine great-grandchildren, and a great-great granddaughter.

In lieu of flowers, memorials may be directed to Haller Lake United Methodist Church, 13055 1st Ave. NE, Seattle, WA 98125.