Graham Thomas Keeler of Helena, MT passed in the early morning of December 26, 2010, from a fall at his Ewing street home.
Graham was born in Graceville, Minnesota on October 17, 1933 to Avis and Raymond Keeler. He had two sisters, Kathryn (deceased) and Jeanie of Boise. The family was raised in Havre.
Graham was Class President and graduated in 1951 from Havre High. He attended the University of Montana and went on to graduate from the University of Washington with a BA in Transportation. He returned to Havre after the death of his father and went to work for the Great Northern Railroad.
Graham married Jeannie Coday in Great Falls in July, 1961. They settled in Havre with Jeannie’s daughters, Colleen and Cathie. Graham and Jeannie had three sons, Kevin, Kelly, and Greg.
The family moved to Helena and settled on Ewing Street in 1967. Dad got a job with State of Montana Milk Control Board and retired 25 years later as a statistician for the DNRC. For the last thirty years, Graham ran the mail to Basin and later a rural route south of Boulder. His white Subaru was a fixture on Hwy 69. He held that route until August, 2010. Graham made some of his best friends in that valley.
Graham’s interests involved model airplanes, long-distance cycling, coaching baseball, and Boy Scouts. The Boy Scouts held a special place with Graham; he made fast friends and encouraged hundreds of scouts to be creative and think for themselves. One of these ideas was to make the “6 Million Dollar Webelo,” a short film completely produced by Cub Scouts and aired at several Cub & Boy Scout troop meetings as well as a couple of Jamboree’s. Graham took his knack for numbers and volunteered to be Cato the Cat Butler’s official statistician throughout the ‘70s and ‘80s. They would often travel to give a hometown voice to the Helena High and Carroll College games, including Class C basketball tournaments. Graham’s stats were clear and accurate.
His survivors include his wife, Jeannie Keeler (Helena); sister, Jeanie Johnson (Boise); children, Colleen Peterson (Hayward, CA), Cathie Pugh (Fredericksburg, VA), Kevin, Kelly (Helena), and Greg (Missoula); eight grandchildren and ten great-grandchildren.
Services are scheduled for 2:00pm, Tuesday, January 4 at Anderson Stevenson Wilke Funeral Home, 650 Logan Street. A reception following the service will be held at Knights of Columbus at 4:00 p.m. A springtime burial will take place in Havre, MT.
Service Schedule
Service Schedule
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Cathie Pufh says
love and miss you dad remembering the trip to waterton lakes and feeding of the chipmunks and how you like to fish and racing from the corner of warren to the house on ewing will always in be out thoughts love cathie
Cathie Pugh says
love and miss you dad remembering the trip to waterton lakes and feeding of the chipmunks and how you like to fish and racing from the corner of warren to the house on ewing will always in be out thoughts love cathie
Jason Mohr says
Our daughter Solveig says “It’s sad that Graham died.” Condolences from Grahams’ neighbors and a friend of Graham’s son, Greg. Take care!
Jay & Judy Kohn says
We were so sorry to hear about Graham’s passing last week. We remember the good times with Graham keeping stats at all the Helena High football and basketball games to keep our radio broadcasts top notch ! He was a true friend, always with a good word to put a smile on your face. Our thoughts are with the Keeler family. We know the good Lord has a new numbers man keeping the stats up in heaven. God Bless !
Nona says
Wishing you comfort in family, friends and memories. Graham will be missed.
Rick & Linda Olson says
Colleen & Family, Sorry to learn of Graham’s passing. He was a special guy & know he will be missed.
Ronni Burke says
Kevin and family: I am so sorry to hear of your father’s death. You are in my thoughts.
Theresa (Nash) McCune says
Kelly & Kevin,
So sorry to hear of your dad’s unexpected passing. Just reflect back on all of the wonderful memories to help you get through this difficult time. Take care and God bless.