Jonathan Bruce Keppel

1944 - 2020

Jonathan Bruce Keppel

July 27, 1944 –
October 8, 2020

Jonathan "Kep" Keppel had a big heart and a booming voice that could fill any room. He passed away after a yearlong battle with various infectious illnesses. He was a grand 76 years old.
Jon was born in Boston, Massachusetts to Bruce and Sandy (née Mary Alice Laudermilk) Keppel. The family settled in Tiburon, CA in 1947, where they hand built a humble adobe-brick home near the water's edge and raised five kids, Jon being the second.
Jon was always a big sports fan, and it was a subscription to Sports Illustrated that gave him the needed push to learn to read. Jon played baseball and football at Redwood High School, where he was part of the inaugural freshman class of 1958.
Jon headed north to Humboldt State University where he graduated with intentions of being a PE teacher, but instead he joined the Coast Guard reserves during the Vietnam War. This kept him on the waters of Humboldt Bay and the Pacific Ocean, a place he truly loved.
Jon married fellow HSU graduate Denise Cancellier and began his life's work of selling semi-trailer trucks at Denise's family owned Peterbilt dealership, Baywood Truck & Equipment Co., in Eureka, CA. In 1975 they had one son, Joshua. They later divorced and Jon moved back to the Bay Area where he married his second wife Mimi Bucholz, a former classmate from Tiburon.
Being back in the Bay Area, Jon was again able to embrace one of his biggest loves in life, sailing. The boat Jon spent most of his life sailing was the "Mimi 'n Me," a 30' Hunter. He spent weekends sailing the waters of the San Francisco Bay, with an annual trip up to the Delta to hang with friends around the 4th of July on the Gin Barge. Jon made many friends through sailing, and nowhere else did he feel more at home.
After Mimi passed away, Jon met his third wife, Elizabeth Bowers, by placing a personal ad that listed: "bald guy with a boat." The two were married for 18 years and in 2016 they moved from Benicia to the small town of Dorrington in the Gold Country. Jon loved tending to his property in the mountains, shovelling snow, harassing squirrels, feeding scrub jays, and building model boats in his free time.
In addition to sailing, Jon loved to cook good food, watch or listen to sporting events and spend quality time with family and friends. Jon always enjoyed visiting with a variety of local shopkeepers and would ride his "V-scoot" Vespa to hardware stores, specialty shops and sometimes would be gone all day riding to a favorite grocery store many towns away for just the right ingredient.
Jon also loved giving people nicknames; before his only grandson Lazlo was born, he had already dubbed him "Lolo." Jon loved to have fun, enjoyed life and had an unmistakable laugh you could hear from down the block. Jon is survived by his four siblings, Victor Keppel, Claudia Keppel Yuhas, Charlie Keppel and Nori Keppel, as well as his wife Libby Bowers-Keppel, son Josh Keppel, daughter-in-law Amy Berger and grandson Lazlo Keppel. He leaves behind many family members and friends who will miss him dearly.
Plans for a memorial service are on hold due to Covid. Hopes are of having a service around his birthday, July of 2021.