Billy Ray Keller's Obituary
Billy Ray Keller, beloved husband, father, grandfather, great-grandfather, and friend, 91, went to be with the Lord on Monday, February 19th, 2018. Billy Ray was born in Ralls, Texas, on January 20th, 1927, to Mary Irene Keller and John Wheeler Keller. The fourth of five children, his siblings include Charles Smith, Harlan Lee (“Dukes”), Doris, and Mary Ann.Growing up in West Texas in the 20’ s and 30’s was hard – limited plumbing, no electricity, no telephones, and medical care was not readily available. In Billy’s words, “his family survived on love and on each other.” When he was ten years old, at the First Baptist Church in Ralls, in what he would later refer to as “the most important event of his life”, Billy made a public declaration of his faith in Jesus Christ as his Savior.A few years later, the family moved to Sherman to begin a new chapter. Billy would graduate from Sherman High School and later attend Austin College. A member of “The Greatest Generation”, Billy dearly loved his country and the principles of liberty and freedom it represents. On his 18th birthday in January 1945, Billy proudly enlisted in the US Navy, and he cherished every opportunity his lifetime afforded to serve his country.Upon returning to Sherman after his service, Billy began to pursue an education and career in architecture. He started as a draftsman and later became a licensed architect and partner in the firm of Brown, Chapman and Keller where he specialized in church design. The founding partner there, John Hall Brown, took him under his wing and, along with being a dear friend, was his mentor and the most influential contributor to his professional life.Then, a blind date on Valentine’s Day 1948 changed Billy’s life forever. That’s when he met Patsy Louise Eyer of Denison. A six-month courtship led to their marriage in September of that year. It began a 30-year union of love of which fairytales are made. They resided in Sherman, and began their family shortly thereafter with the birth of their daughter, Kathy. Fathers love their little girls, but Billy’s love for Kathy was one for the ages and lasted a lifetime. Son, Kirk came along two years later and Billy spent countless hours coaching Kirk in football on the Optimist Colts and encouraging him as quarterback for Richardson High School. “Baby” Kyle, as we fondly still call him, was the prize coming along 13 years later. He was a cherished gift to Billy and Pat after the other two were nearly out of the nest and the three of them traveled and had great times together. He often referred to those years as the happiest time of his life.Billy’s passion for designing and building residential custom homes later led to the creation of his own independent residential building firm – BK Corp. Through the firm, he contributed to the planning and development of much of the north Richardson area, and would design and build over 100 custom homes there and in other parts of the metroplex. In 1974, encouraged and supported by his friend Roger Gadd of Dallas Federal Savings, Billy purchased a tract of land in Canyon Creek with the idea of building 60 zero lot line homes for empty nesters, one of (if not the) first developments of its kind in the region. “The Crown” was his proudest professional achievement.Several years later, Billy would endure the hardest days of his life when Pat, the mother of his three children, passed away after a nine-month battle with cancer. The devastation of the loss of Pat was eased a few years after her passing when, in God’s providence, Billy and the family were blessed with the entrance into their lives of Gisse Hansen. After dating for a few years, they married on May 30th, 1987, and thus began a long and beautiful relationship that enriched his life to his death. Billy and Gisse enjoyed traveling the world together, spending time with their great-grandchildren, and hosting the family for holidays. Gisse is beloved by our family because of her love and devotion to Billy.Throughout his adult life, Billy would serve on numerous boards in the City of Richardson, was a member of the North Texas Municipal Water Board, served as Chairman of the Board at Canyon Creek Country Club, and Usher at Fellowship Bible Church.For fun, Billy enjoyed playing golf, cheering on the Texas Longhorns, spending hours upon hours in his garage workshop, and spending time with his great grandchildren.Billy was preceded in death by his first wife Patsy Louise Keller, brothers Charles Smith Keller and Harlan Lee Keller, and sister Doris Keller Meek. He is survived by his second wife of 30 years, Gisse Hansen Keller, daughter Katherine Keller Owens (Jay), sons Roger Kirk Keller (Darla) and John Kyle Keller and sister Mary Ann Wright. His adored grandchildren and great-grandchildren include Brett Keller Owens (Shannon), Cari Catherine Spielhagen (Derek), Christopher Alan Keller (Kristen), Jonathan Ray Keller (Loren), Avery Markay Owens, Benton Keller Owens, Joshua Baird Owens, Katherine Kenedy Spielhagen, Luke McKinney Spielhagen, Kylie Faith Keller, Aiden Alan Keller, Addison Grace Keller, Kemper Lizbeth Keller, Haven Loxley Keller and Hayden Grey Keller.Billy loved God, his family, his friends and his country passionately, and every day of his life he embraced and cherished the obligations and self-sacrifice that supported that love.A memorial service will be held at Fellowship Bible Church on Friday, February 23rd, at 11:00am. Contributions in Billy’s memory may be made to Fellowship Bible Church – 9330 N Central Expressway, Dallas, Texas 75231.
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