Leon Kay Keller

Leon was born on March 5, 1942, to Mary Jane Cole Keller and Carl E. Keller in Trenton, Nebraska. He was the eldest of four children and spent his childhood running around with his many cousins. Leon was extremely athletic as a youth and excelled in football, basketball, baseball and track. He was also an avid outdoorsman enjoying hunting and fishing; he had many tales of his adventures, including scampering up a tree to avoid the charge of an angry elk.

After his father suffered a catastrophic injury in 1959, the family relocated to St. Anthony, Idaho. Leon graduated from South Fremont High School in 1960. He initially sought an electrician’s apprenticeship but abandoned that to follow in the steps of his father and serve his country; Leon enlisted in the United States Air Force in the fall of 1961. His service would be life changing and took him all over the world…with assignments in Africa, Europe and Asia.

Leon served not one, but two tours during the Vietnam War, volunteering a second time to save his beloved brother, William Dean Keller, a deployment while serving in the Army. During his second tour, he met Thinh Thi Pham (“Gin”) in 1971 while she was working at a restaurant located near the base. They married on May 13, 1972, in Elko, Nevada. The next few years of their young marriage were both exciting and harrowing as they navigated the increased instability of Vietnam and the birth of their first child, Ginnie. On the eve of the fall of Saigon, Leon traveled back in April 1975 to locate Gin’s parents and some of her siblings to escort them safely out of the country. Later that year, they welcomed their second daughter, Angie, while stationed in the Philippines. They reunited with Gin’s family in Little Rock, Arkansas and welcomed their son, Eric.

After an assignment in Alexandria, Louisiana, the family decided to retire at Bergstrom Air Force Base in Central Texas in 1983. He received many awards during his service, most notably the Air Force Commendation Medal, the Meritorious Service Medal and the Bronze Star.

Leon tried on several hats in the civilian world…from sales to fabrication. He even joined his wife at Abbott Laboratories for a stint before finally retiring in 1997. Although he held many positions, Leon saw himself always as an airman and never left the house without his Vietnam Veteran baseball cap.

He relished his free time…he loved to read all things related to military history, enjoyed woodworking and filling the garage with numerous power tools and exotic woods. Leon was “old school” and firmly believed that if you could use your hands, he could figure it out, from plumbing to wiring to automotive maintenance. He was quick witted and humble; we will miss his stories and expertise.

He is survived by his daughters, Ginnie McConn (Tim McConn) and Angie Keller (Jonathan Love); his son Eric Keller; his grandchildren Kellen McConn, Hollis McConn, Garrett Keller and Gabrielle Keller-Love; his sisters Carlene Rae Keller (Gail Kohn) and Marilyn Jo Salter (James Salter) and numerous nieces, nephews and extended family members.

Leon and Gin will be entombed with military honors in Houston National Cemetery, 10410 Veterans Memorial Drive at 1:30 pm on Friday, May 8, 2026. A reception will be held immediately after the committal at the home of Ginnie and Tim McConn.

The family offers its sincerest thanks to Dr. Pippa Schnee and the professionals at Choice Hospice; the attentive caregivers at Avid Home Care Solutions; and Karene Tanner and Mai Wague who provided especially loving care at the end.