Leon Carol Keller

Leon Carol Keller, of Birmingham, Alabama, died Monday, December 7, 2015. He was born May 17, 1938 in Manteno, Illinois. He was preceded in death by his parents, Carol Earl Keller and Doreen LaMore Keller; his brother, LaVern Keller and his nephew, Michael Dupuis.

He is survived by his sister, Joleen Keller Dupuis; his children, Verna Keller Madrid (Greg), Robert M. Keller (Nancy), Rhonda Keller Nesin (Scott), Steven C. Keller (Seleana); their mother, Jerene Christensen Keller; nine grandchildren; one great-granddaughter, and many nephews and nieces.

After contracting polio which left him a paraplegic in his teens, he graduated from the University of Illinois to become a computer programmer. His career involved him in NASA and IBM, and brought him and his young family to Huntsville, AL. He joined M&S Computing in Huntsville in 1969, the small start-up computer company which became Intergraph Corporation in 1980. After retiring from Intergraph, he enjoyed his family, his hobby with model airplanes, traveling, genealogical research, and learning to fly his own small airplane. He stayed up-to-date with advances in computer technology for many years, volunteering to share his knowledge with other seniors trying to get the hang of “this computer thing”. As a lifelong Catholic, he was one of the founding members of St. John the Baptist Catholic Church in Madison, AL, and was grateful for the opportunity to share his material blessings with many Church organizations serving those in need, as well as his alma mater the University of Illinois.

You may visit with the family Friday, December 11, 2015 from 6:00 until 8:00pm at Valhalla Funeral Home. Funeral Mass will be held Saturday, December 12, 2015 at 11:00 am at St. John the Baptist Church in Madison, AL. Interment will immediately follow at Valhalla Memory Gardens. In lieu of flowers, the family requests that you consider donations to Catholic Relief Services (http://www.crs.org/), Center for Dementia Research (http://cdr.rfmh.org/support.html) using a PayPal account, or by check to the Research Foundation for Mental Hygiene/Center for Dementia Research, Center for Dementia Research, Nathan Kline Institute, 140 Old Orangeburg Road, Orangeburg, NY 10962, ATTN: Ralph Nixon, MD, PhD),

or to the Alzheimer’s Research Foundation (http://www.alzheimersresearchfoundation.com/make-a-donation), or by mail to Alzheimer’s Research Foundation, 3152 Little Road, Suite 146, Trinity, FL 34655. Please sign the guest registry at www.valhallafunerals.com.