Jack Kevin Keller

To say Jack Kevin Keller was a good man is an understatement. He was a selfless, caring, doting and devoted husband, father, grandfather, son-in-law, brother, and friend to many. He was intelligent, funny, passionate, and informed.
Jack died of a heart attack at age 62 on Sunday, March 19, 2023. The lives of everyone he touched will never be the same without him, especially those of his wife and his four sons.
When he was a child, Jack was what today would be referred to as an "at-risk" kid. His father was a roofer, traveling to various areas when work became available. The family didn't have much. Both his parents were in poor health and became addicted to prescription painkillers on and off over the years. As an early teen, Jack's parents left him alone with his 4-year-old brother for months after they traveled to another state for his dad's roofing work. Jack took care of his sibling, buying dozens of frozen dinners at a nearby store and skipping school frequently when he couldn't get a neighbor to watch his brother. When he did attend classes, one teacher stood out to him – someone who engaged him and, more importantly, seemed to care about him. Jack reached out to him over social media years later to express his appreciation. He has always had an appreciation for a role a good teacher can play in a child's life.
Jack never blamed his childhood for missed opportunities. Instead, he said it helped to build character, taught him self-reliance and how to put the needs of others first. He did that his entire life. Just ask anyone who had the privilege of knowing him.
Born in Florida, Jack grew up in Ohio and Michigan. He entered the United States Army from high school and became a military policeman, training at Fort McClellan, Alabama. He remained in touch with some of the young men who served in his unit. After four years, he left the military and became a police officer in New Hampshire, where he worked for about a decade. He also ran a small general store for a short time and later worked for United Parcel Service. In the last 20 years, he worked as a self-employed artisan, handcrafting furniture, décor, and collectibles. However, that was a part-time gig, as his main job was that of stay-at-home dad, taking care of his two youngest sons, Jackson, who is now 19, and Sam, 17.
Besides his teen sons, Jack also leaves behind his heartbroken wife Amy J. (Vellucci) Keller, of Tennessee; two adult sons, Ryan Keller and wife Whitney and Rob Keller and wife Janae, all of New Hampshire; grandchildren Cash Keller, 4, and Lydia Keller, 12; brothers Todd Keller and David Bissett and wife Deborah, all of Virginia; sisters Linda Robbins, of Michigan, and Nancy Thompson of Florida; He was preceded in death by his sister Carla Denice Dimkoff and brothers Larry and Billy Keller. He was also preceded in death by his parents, James and Bernice (Frost) Keller.
A few weeks ago, his wife was trying to estimate the number of hours Jack spent in the car shuttling Jackson and Sam back and forth to school from preschool through high school. Jack made his sons breakfast and lunches, often brought snacks upstairs to their rooms while they were studying, still played catch at age 62, went to movies with them, helped with schoolwork, took them to doctor appointments, and cared for them when they were sick.
He carried to his wife's car daily everything she needed to take to work; he often packed her lunches. She almost never had to fill her car's gas tank in the nearly 30 years they were a couple (married for more than 26 years). He gave the boys their bottles, changed diapers, put them down for naps, and endlessly entertained them. In more recent years, he gave them driving lessons and advice on becoming young men and good people. He did all of this and still managed to bring in a paycheck from various businesses he had over the years.
He encouraged his wife's career choices. When she had a job opportunity in Tennessee, he moved himself and their two sons from New Hampshire - selling their house and moving its 20 years of contents by himself because his wife had relocated early to start her new job.
He was a perfectionist, passionate about anything he did. He was creative, built rustic furniture, crafted keychains and necklaces and custom-made lamps, and could write incredibly compelling short stories. If you wanted something made, Jack could make it and it would be beautiful.
He loved wildlife, nature and animals. He enjoyed hiking and taking photographs of deer. He took care of all the family pets over the years. Most recently, he became attached to a new puppy he named Ranger, carrying him around like a baby and feeding him by hand.
Jack always wanted to help others. A friend and neighbor, Alex Dunn, put it this way: "He was the type of person to lend a hand without pause." Another neighbor, Todd Wright, said, "He was one who would never hesitate to help out. The answer was always YES."
Indeed, Jack was the kind of guy who would run toward an accident or fire to assist a stranger, which is perhaps why he became a police officer when he was first starting out. He never put himself first.
He and his wife would have lost Jackson to a severe allergic reaction when he was five months old if it hadn't been for the speed with which Jack reacted in scooping up the baby and flying through stop signs and red lights to the hospital.
Jack helped his two adult sons, who were teens at the time, get through the loss of their mother to cancer and what must have been a difficult transition to a new home.
Chip Chabot, who served as a police officer with Jack in Hooksett, New Hampshire, said Jack was one of those guys everybody liked the minute they met him, "even the people he was arresting. He was a great influence on a lot of people and by that I mean he was decent to people. I adopted a lot of what Jack did in my own policing."
Visitation will be from 12 noon to 1:30 p.m. on Thursday, March 23, at the Click Funeral Home, Farragut, Tennessee chapel. A private Celebration of Life service for family will follow.