JOSEPH F. KELLER

Joseph “Joe” Frantz Keller, age 83, of Piqua, Ohio, died peacefully at home, Sunday evening, December 12, 2021 surrounded by his loving family. He was born February 9th, 1938 in Troy, Ohio, the son of William & Laura (Swank) Keller. He is survived by his wife of 57 years, Evelyn R. Sell, whom he married on the 6th of September, 1964.

He is also survived by his son, Joseph (Mary Jo) Keller, and his daughter Laura (Eric) Swingle; along with his grandchildren Will and Grace Keller, as well as Kyle (Annie), Brian (Madison), and Derek Swingle.  He was a devoted husband, and the love for his children and grandchildren was second to none.

Joe enjoyed a lengthy retirement of 26 years from the Sunoco (formerly Container) Corporation, after 27 years of work. In retirement, Joe started a business distributing cantaloupe in many of the groceries from Dayton to Findlay and fondly became known as the “Melon King”.   A true handyman, Joe built the home that he and Evelyn lived in for 55 years. Having no tolerance for procrastination, he was always focused on getting things done. He was a longtime member of the Troy AMVETS Post 88 and was extremely proud of his daughter and son-in-law’s service in the United States Air Force. Joe enjoyed a yearly retreat to Key West with his wife where you could find him at Sloppy Joe’s enjoying music and an ice cold beer.   He was a life-long fan of the Cleveland Browns and was a near 50 year veteran of the Indianapolis 500.  Joe was an avid motorcycle rider, and he loved his dogs, Annie 1, 2 & 3.  Never having met a stranger, Joe had a large group of loving friends and he role modeled his lifelong advice of “You can never have too many friends”.

A gathering of family and friends to honor his life will be held from 5:00-7:00 p.m. Friday, December 17, 2021 at the Jamieson & Yannucci Funeral Home. In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions may be made to the Piqua Education Foundation, P.O. Box 201, Piqua, OH 45356; the American Cancer Society, P.O. Box 22718, Oklahoma City, OK 73123; or to your favorite charity in Joe’s memory. Guestbook condolences and expressions of sympathy, to be provided to the family, may be expressed through jamiesonandyannucci.com.

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