Gary Lee Keller

Gary Keller, of Granite Falls WA, passed peacefully from this world at home, with his wife Connie by his side, along with his daughter Cara & son-in-law James in attendance. Their happy little jigsaw puzzle of a farm consisting of dogs, chickens, horses, one goat & one parrot, will forever be missing a piece.

Gary was born in Spokane, WA on April 23rd, 1949 and just enjoyed a memorable 77th birthday with lot’s of family. He was the first born child of Lena & Richard Keller (deceased) and BIG BROTHER to Rick Keller (deceased), Janice Wade, Tim Keller, Steve Keller (deceased) & Dennis Keller along with his loving wife Kelly.

He grew up in & attended the West Valley School District where more than once he was sent to the principal’s office. On one of those fateful visits, he met John Bingham who became his dearest lifelong friend. He played little league baseball & then played football & wrestled until his junior year, when he got hurt by a forklift at his first job at Waste Paper Mngmt. For his senior year he had to finish high School at Lewis & Clark where he graduated in 1967.

Gary attended Spokane Community College for a year, considering a civil engineer career but drawn instead into his psychology courses. From 1967 to 1972 he was drafted 7 times for the Vietnam War, but failed the physical due to strict medical standards excluding candidates with high blood pressure. Therefore he provided the send off & pick up duties for all of his friends, including John B. His studies in psychology became relevant as he made himself available to truly listen to each friend’s experience upon their return.

The years between 1973 to 1976 were a self proclaimed blur, as he truly “lived” thru the 70’s embracing drugs, sex & rock n roll! There were many campouts, roadtrips and train hopping adventures all while he worked various jobs. During this time, he kept noticing a beautiful woman in town. Turns out they had crossed paths on the same day at the Social Security office as their numbers had almost been consecutive. They had also both worked at Columbia Lighting but they never officially met until Connie Harris introduced herself at a bar and asked if he wanted to buy some speed.

On July 4th, 1976 about 50 years ago, he invited her along on a family camping trip to party for the weekend, they fell in love and they married on Jan 19th, 1978. He became an instant dad to her 7 year old little girl Cara, who took on his last name immediately.

As a family, they went camping & fishing, and spent weekends at softball fields where he played co-ed slow pitch with Connie, modified, fast pitch & snowshoe on various men’s teams (including Plywood Dist., Old Mill Tavern, Stylelynns, West One Tavern, Tropical Fish, & Big Foot Tavern). He also coached women’s softball (Susie’s Tavern), played rec league volleyball and became an avid, talented & competitive golfer which became his favorite pastime. Their home was overflowing with love, sports & all the trophies won at the endless tournaments. His favorite being the Batting Crown champion at Snowshoe for the best batting average that year.

Gary settled into a career of construction in Spokane, WA owing his start to Kelly Mays Const. & then expanding his talent with Bob Townsend Const. Eventually he found his niche in tile setting & started his own business as Keller Flooring. He tiled homes & businesses for many years, & enjoyed the jobs most where he could be artistic. Some businesses included the WSU Bookstore, Whitworth Cafeteria, Bon Marche, The Onion, The Flour Mill, Northtown Mall and many more.

His hard work lead to achieving his proudest moment in life of buying a new home on property in Plummer ID in 1998. He built a unique front porch patio that he spent time with friends and family sitting together on the half circle of steps, just as he envisioned such gatherings. From his porch he could see his wife’s horse and llama, he could feed every dog in the neighborhood that came to see him for biscuits, and it was front row for setting off fireworks. He eventually retired from tile work, & to make ends meet took on the stocking job at the Benewah Market which he claimed was the funnest work he ever did, as he loved meeting everyone coming through the store. Eventually he stepped away as they insisted on drug testing for marijuana. He later took on a mowing & maintenance job at the Lakeside School District where he met one of his best buddies, Tracey Way.

Gary fully retired after a scare with heart failure in 2017. He decided shortly afterward in 2018 to sell their property & move him & his wife over to Granite Falls WA to live with his daughter Cara & her husband James True. For the last 8 years, they all enjoyed many family adventures including Mardi Gras in New Orleans, vacation in Zihuatanejo Mexico, Cara’s 50th birthday in Las Vegas, & road trips/camping at many National Parks such as Glacier, Arches & Yellowstone. His favorite vacations though, were to see the Mariners at Spring Training in Arizona, a week in Vegas for the Super Bowl Experience / watch party, and a once in a lifetime trip to Dallas to attend a Cowboys Game with his little bro Denny who spoiled him rotten.

Throughout his life, Gary treated people of all walks of life with respect. He would quite often talk to men & women on the streets, listening to them, laughing with them and wishing them well. His friends could always count on him to talk to about anything without judgement, knowing he listened & cared about what they needed to say. He hopes with his departure, that people remember the laughter & joy he brought into their lives. He always tried to make people smile, have fun & enjoy the moments he shared with them. During his final reflections, he stated, “If I leave behind memories of friendship, kindness, laughter & good times, then I will have lived a life that mattered”.

He was deeply loved and will be missed by so many, many friends along with his immediate family all mentioned above, and in addition to his nephews: Andrew (Crystal) Schindler, Brian (Amber) Schindler, Jeff Keller (deceased), Stevie Keller, Clint Harris… His nieces: Jill (Toby) Walling, Laura Andrade, Angie (Jake) Jones… and his cousins Julie Seeley (deceased),Terry Fiorelli (deceased), and Donna (Terry) Swanson.

Anyone touched by the LIFE OF GARY KELLER can come celebrate on Friday August 14th at 4pm at The Mirabeau Park hotel located at 1100 N. Sullivan Rd., Spokane Valley, WA 99037.

Honorary Pallbearers:

Dennis Keller

Timothy Keller

John Bingham

Terry Worthington

(In Memoriam)

Rick Keller

Steve Keller

Joe Pekala

Bob Shollenberger