LeRoy Rupert Keller

Services will be at 11 a.m. Thursday at Callahan-Edfast Mortuary Chapel.

Mr. Keller was a mechanical engineer in the oil industry.

Survivors include one son, Stephen “Sam” of Camarillo, California; one daughter, Ginger Keller Essink of Bethesda, Maryland; four grandchildren; and seven great-grandchildren.

Memorial contributions to HopeWest Hospice, 3090B N. 12th St., Grand Junction 81506.

LeRoy R. Keller

August 9, 1923 - April 17, 2015

LeRoy ""Roy"" Keller, aged 91, passed away Friday morning at Family Health West Nursing Home in Fruita, CO. He followed his beloved wife of 69 years, Margaret ""Peggie"" Keller, who died October 14, 2014.

Roy was born August 9, 1923, in Oxnard, California to Geraldine and Rupert Keller. He grew up in the beach city of Ventura, California, loving the ocean, deep-sea fishing, and all things mechanical, especially cars. He was an academically gifted student, graduating from Ventura Junior College and University of California at Berkeley in mechanical engineering. He was headed for naval officer's training, but his navy career was cut short by his color-blindness. He spent his entire career as an engineer working for Union Oil, or UNOCAL.

Roy and Peggie married in 1945, in Long Beach, CA, and raised three children, Ginger, Rick and Sam, in Lomita, CA. He continued fishing and tinkering with cars. He liked the challenge of fixing anything that didn't work and of engineering home building projects. He also loved the outdoors, boating, and camping at California's national parks. He began road cycling in his late 40's and often won century races in his age category. In 1980, Roy and Peggie decided to move to Grand Junction, an area they had come to love on vacations. He worked for a while with UNOCAL on shale oil extraction, and then began years of travel around the Southwest.

Though Roy could be stubbornly opinionated, he was also deeply thoughtful and had a dry sense of humor with a frequent twinkle in his eye. He and Peggie were blessed with wonderful, wise friends in both Southern California and Grand Junction. In his later years dementia took its toll, but his caregivers still saw and loved that twinkle.

He is survived by his children, Ginger (Bob) in Maryland and Sam (DeeDee) in California (his son Rick was killed in the Vietnam War); grandchildren, Rick, Bobby, Karen and Adam, and seven great-grandchildren.

His memorial will be held on Thursday, April 23, 2015, at Callahan-Edfast at 11:00 a.m.

Contributions can be made to HopeWest Hospice.