Richard Keller

Richard D. “Dick” Keller passed away on December 7th, 2025 at Presbyterian Manor in Emporia, Kansas. He was 82. Dr. Keller came to Emporia in 1970, where he and his wife, Karen K. (Pfledderer) Keller raised their two sons, Russell and Matthew, and where he worked as a Professor in the English Department until his retirement in 2013.

The son of H. Bertram and Margaret B. Keller, Dick grew up in Valley Stream, New York and spent summers in Clark County, Kansas on his grandfather’s cattle ranch. He left Valley Stream for Purdue University, where he played trombone in the band and received his BA in English Literature in 1965. He went on to receive a Masters in English Literature from Ball State University, and his PhD in American Literature from Northern Illinois University. He and Karen were married in Kouts, Indiana, in August of 1967.

In 1970, Dick accepted a position as Assistant Professor of English at Emporia State, where he was later promoted to Full Professor and then became an Emeritus Professor upon his retirement. He was proud of his tenure at ESU, where he served in multiple administrative roles including department Chair, Chair of the Faculty Assembly in the Liberal Arts & Sciences, and University Athletics Representative. He taught classes ranging from freshman composition to graduate methods – and in areas including western literature, the literature and film of sport, and radio in America. He served as editor for several academic journals, including as a founding editor at Arete: The Journal of Sports Literature and a reviving editor of the journal Heritage of Kansas (later renamed Heritage of the Great Plains); he traveled widely across Kansas to make presentations for the Kansas Humanities Council; and he was heavily involved with ESU’s Channel 8 as writer, announcer, narrator, and sportscaster. Together with the university and the Center for Great Plains Studies, Dick recorded more than 150 “Plainstalk” programs that were distributed to radio stations throughout the country. He talked frequently about and was proud of his many former students and graduate students as they moved on from Emporia State to a wide range of careers locally and globally.

Outside of ESU, Dick refereed soccer games for 37 years at youth, high school, and college levels, and he was an officer in the early years of the Twin Rivers Youth Soccer Association (TRYSA) in Emporia. He also coached little league baseball and played for the St. Mark’s Lutheran Church’s softball team, where he and his family were members. In the early 2000s he trained to be a saddle maker, and thereafter he routinely tinkered on leather projects in his garage workshop. He enjoyed riding horses with friends at the Flying W Ranch when he had the chance. He was a proud Kansan and Emporian his entire adult life.

Dick was preceded in death by his parents, Bert and Margaret Keller. He is survived by his wife, Karen; his sister, Kathleen Keller; his son Russell J. Keller and daughter-in-law Anne Cartwright, and their sons Benjamin H. and Andrew B. Keller (Fairway, Kansas); and his son Matthew R. Keller and daughter-in-law Laura Keller, and their sons Brodie W. and Quinn E. Keller (Dallas, Texas).

A memorial service for Dr. Keller will be held at St. Mark’s Lutheran Church (1508 W. 12th St.) on January 10th, at 10 am. In lieu of flowers, contributions in Dick’s honor can be made to the American Cancer Society (https://donate.cancer.org/).