ROBERT C. KELLER
It is with great sadness our family shares the loss of our beloved spouse, father, grandfather and friend Robert “Bob” Keller. Bob passed away peacefully on January 27, 2023 in the care of Nathan Adelson Hospice in Las Vegas, NV. He was born November 7th, 1933 in Moorhead, MN to Mr. and Mrs. Albert Keller Sr. The family moved to Stockton, CA shortly after. This is where Bob spent his childhood, graduated high school and jr. college. Bob served in the US Air Force from 1952 – 1956 where he spent most of his time in Alaska. After which he returned to Stockton and studied mechanical drafting. He was then recruited by Sandia National Laboratories to work in the weapons test program in Livermore, CA. In Livermore he went to work for Lawrence Radiation Laboratory and began traveling back and forth to the Nevada Test Site (NTS). A few years later, he transferred to NTS while still working for Lawrence Radiation. Then Reynolds Electrical & Engineering Co. recruited Bob to work in T Tunnel. During this time, he also went back to school at San Jose State, receiving a BS in Industrial Technologies. In
1972, Bob accepted employment with the Department of Energy’s Atomic Energy Commission holding various positions before retiring as Deputy Director in
1993. He then went on to be a Tour Host for the National Atomic Testing Tours of the NTS. Bob’s career was decorated with many accolades and medals of recognition, as he was a dedicated leader and generous with his service to our country. During Bob’s distinguished career with the Department of Energy, he held a “Q” clearance and traveled all over the world including Russia, the Northwest Territory, Aleutian Islands, Bikini Islands. It is also notable that his duties meant he was present at the NTS for most of the nuclear weapons tests as a key member of the Test Manager/ Controller’s staff. While all of these accomplishments are noteworthy, what was most important to Bob was family. He was a father of three, grandfather of 5 and great grandfather of 9. Bob married the love of his life, Barbara in 1966. They loved to travel together and took advantage of their retirement visiting the Caribbean, Canada, Italy, Portugal, Spain, Danube River, a memorable trip to see the autumn colors on the East Coast and many others. One of their favorite spots was Lake Tahoe visiting his brother Al Keller. During his retirement years, Bob was also a devoted grandfather. He spent most afternoons and weekends taking his grandchildren to their various extracurricular activities and cheering them on. He loved to be involved in their lives and they all have special memories of these times with their grandfather and the commitment he had to them. Bob was received in death by his parents Albert and Ann Keller, his siblings Albert Keller Jr. and Donald Keller and his daughter Pamela Mulligan. Bob leaves a legacy of his love here with his wife Barbara Keller, his son Mark (Debbie) Keller and daughter Karen Shkurensky, his sister Patricia Ann
Innes, grandchildren Jeremy (Kelly) Keller, Chloe (Matthew) Mckinley, Matt Partch, Meghan Mulligan-ellis and Kerry Mulligan and his nine great-grandchildren.