James Hawthorne Keller

Published 11:20 am Wednesday, September 18, 2024

James Hawthorne Keller (Jim), Sept. 6, 1934-Sept. 13, 2024, died peacefully at Rolling Green Village, Greenville, SC, of natural causes.

He was the son of the late Francis W Keller and Dorothy Reeves Keller of Columbia, SC. He is survived by his wife, Nancy Ogden Keller; two sons, Paul Keller (Marni) and Bruce Keller (Carolyn); two step-sons, Chris Rogers (Karen) and Ed Rogers (Ashley), and their children; three step-daughters, Nancy “Happy” Ehlers (Lee), Ellen Rogers, and Amanda Ferrell (Andy) and their children; 12 grandchildren, (Ryan Keller (Jewel), Elizabeth Ketchum (Will), Sawyer Keller (Courtney), Julianna Gessler (Jordan), Jacob Keller (Hannah), Jay Keller (Devin), Jonathan Keller (Claire), Jared Keller, Jensen Keller, Timothy Keller, Jadon Keller, and Rosey Keller; 18 great-grandchildren; a sister, Carol Evans (Michael); and a brother, George Keller (Alice). He was predeceased by his first wife, Dartha Pearl McJunkin Keller, and a sister, Ann Overton (John).

Jim was a loving son, brother, husband, father, and grandfather/great-grandfather. He was an intentional, ethical, kind person who was not self-seeking, but lived a modest life. He always had a pen and pad of paper in his shirt pocket and would take it out often to remember special events like birthdays and the names of new grandchildren. Jim was an incredibly smart man. A Furman alumnus (Class of 1956), he had a gift for mathematics and, in the mid-1960s, worked as part of IBM’s project on NASA’s Saturn V guidance system during the Apollo space program in Huntsville, Alabama. He would proudly share stories about his education and work history in the space flight program, at IBM, and as the original computer programmer at Furman University. He retired from Furman after working there for 45 years.

Jim valued knowledge and never stopped learning throughout his entire life. He stayed busy studying genealogy and was able to trace his ancestors back to the early settlers and the line of William Bradford from Plymouth Colony. What a gift it was to be able to celebrate Jim’s 90th birthday party a week before his passing where we recalled so many memories, and he sang Jesus Loves Me with his grandchildren and great-grandchildren. Among his last words were “I Love Jesus,” and “I Love You.”

Jim/Dad/Granddad will be greatly missed by us all. A memorial service will be held on Friday, September 20th at 4:30 pm at Resurrection Baptist Church in Cowpens, SC.

Submitted by Paul Keller