Birth date: Jan 4, 1961 Death date: Jul 4, 2021
Born January 4, 1961, in Covina, California and passed away July 4, 2021, in Richardson, Texas. Preceded in death by his Father-in-law, Thomas Najvar. Survived by his wife, Debbie Keller; stepdaughters, Jessica Grant (Jason Gran Read Obituary
Spoken during Todd's memorial by Seth Dyson:
In Robert Frost poem “Mending Walls”, one neighbor is intent on making sure this wall is repaired, built up to create separation. He several times makes the statement, “Good fences make good neighbors”. But as this neighbor is described as walking in darkness, he truly doesn’t know what makes a good neighbor.
We have lived next to Todd and Debbie for the past twelve years, and had the privilege of witnessing what a true neighbor is. I speak for the cluster of homes beside, behind, down the alley from the Kellers…Mary and Italo, Anna, Durrell and his family, Clarissa, ND and myself…
Todd was the best example of a neighbor I have ever seen. Most of us know him to be the tall, lanky, guy tinkering with his truck for what seemed a decade. Sometimes I would ask him if it would ever be finished. He would just smile and laugh. But beyond that, he never hesitated to help his neighbors when they needed it. Garage door isn’t working, there he was working on Anna’s garage door, Italos and Mary’s…he even helped fix the cables on ours. Didn’t ask for anything, “just taking care of my neighbors”.
Todd wasn’t just a neighbor to me. He was someone that taught me a lot of how to fix things and work on things around the house. He was patient with me as I would ask him if I could borrow something, a tool, anything to fix something on the car. Not only would he provide the tool (as soon as he could find it), but he also came and either showed me how to fix it or if I couldn’t do it, he jumped right and did it. Selfless. On more than one occasion our Jeep had wiring issues between the door and the console, and I would get frustrated…simply because there’s not much room to work with. But Todd would come over with his strangely long fingers and miraculously maneuver things and get it done. That’s just who he was. He was more than just a neighbor to me, he was a some what of a father figure to me as I didn’t grow up with a father that showed me how to these things. I learned to not be afraid to get your hands dirty and give it a try.
He was the epitome of what a neighbor is called to be. That’s something special. And more importantly, he lived as we are called to do. Several times in the gospels, and specifically in Matthew 22:39, we are called to “love your neighbor as you love yourself.” Through his giving of his time and knowing those that lived around us, helping them in all situations, he lived this out.
I miss him already, and miss the tinkering in the driveway. Thank you for everything you have shown me in the past decade. I promise to be more like you with our small community of friends, our neighbors.
Dear Debbie, family and friends please accept my deepest and most heartfelt Sympathy for the loss of Todd. I pray that God give you strength to get through this time and comfort you with his love.
My friend Todd
In 1987 I took a job at the Brinkmann Corp. Shortly after Todd’s Dad, Don, was hired on with his newest innovation the Legend flashlight. Todd had moved to TX from California as well and we soon met in the office. We decided to grab a beer so we headed down to the Hard Rock on McKinney in Uptown. Standing on the patio by the guitar-shaped bar we soon realized by the 3rd beer we would be fast friends. We shared the same tastes in music and a warped sense of humor.
We became running buddies and shared many good times checking out bands and having many white-knuckle excursions on Scott’s insanely fast ski boat the Turn N Burn. In February 1989, Todd was living in a house in Coppell with Frank & Tim. There was a really bad ice storm and Todd called me to come over for the party. Common sense be damned I made the ill-advised trip from North Dallas to the house. It’s amazing where you can go in a front wheel drive Nissan Sentra. LBJ Freeway was all mine. There must have been 15 people there including Karen, my future wife and mother of my son Miles. It’s presumable that if Todd hadn’t called my life would be much different today. Many good times and great memories ensued as I was drawn into Todd’s large circle of friends. Clint had many pool parties and let me tell ya: you didn’t wanna play against Todd in pool volleyball. He would spike your face off.
In 1995 Karen and I tied the knot in Lake Louise, Alberta. Todd made the trip along with some other close friends. Karen’s extended family filled out the majority of the guest. It’s a good thing they didn’t drink because the wine tab from the table of Todd, James, Clint, Harold and Bryan & Alex made up for it. Regardless, it was one of the greatest days of my life. Best tab I ever picked up.
In 1996 I took a job in Waco. Karen & I started new careers. Hers with Baylor Univ. (Go Bears!) and mine with Packaging Corp of America. The move made getting together more difficult though over the years we tried to find opportunities to get together. Either at Todd & Debbie’s house or our place in Waco. But we always tried to stay in touch and chat on the phone.
On January 4th I called Todd on his 60th birthday to give him hell about being officially “old” and if he had his AARP card. We probably talked for an hour and a half reminiscing about all the good times and our lives events. Last Saturday on July 3rd I was in Asheville, NC celebrating my 60th birthday with Karen. I kinda expected to hear from Todd to give me hell about joining the 60 club. Of course that didn’t happen and I’ll always regret not having another great talk with my buddy. When Deb texted me on Monday with the news I was in Louisiana driving home. I was devastated. I only wish we had the chance for a last chat. Sure gonna miss you pal. Love you, brother.
David Griffiths
I was blessed to have known Todd for 35 years. 33 of them as his sister in law. We were lucky to have lived near Todd in CA, TX and WA. Enjoying lots of river/boating trips and just being together. I also have a brother Todd. His niece and nephews would get confused as to which Todd we were speaking of so they became "big Uncle Todd and "little Uncle Todd" to them. You can guess which one Todd Keller was. He will be so missed by all who know and love him!
Marnie Keller
