William (Bill) Edward Keller passed away peacefully in his sleep and was welcomed into the arms of Jesus on January 31, 2026. He was 84 years old.
He was a kind, patient, generous man who listened with his heart and had a great sense of humor.
Bill was born and raised in Brooklyn, NY.
His father, Edward, immigrated from Ireland, and his mother, Dorothy Mavis Haggerty, immigrated from England.
Bill was the eldest of three children.
He attended Catholic schools throughout his life. He graduated from St. Francis of Assisi Grammar School in 1954.
He was an accelerated learner and skipped one grade in elementary school.
He graduated Brooklyn Prep High School in 1958. At 20 years old, he graduated from Fordham University with a bachelor’s degree in Psychology and a minor in philosophy and Latin. While in college, he met his wife, Marie, on a double-blind date and married her just days after graduating from Fordham. He was commissioned as a United States Marine Corps Second Lieutenant and stationed in Quantico, Virginia, where he started his family. Son Ronald was born in Quantico, son Brian born at Camp Lejeune, North Carolina, and daughter Terry and son, David, born in Brooklyn, NY.
Bill was a jazz drummer, playing in high school and at Fordham and for the Sahara Swingers, a band he formed while working in New York City. Bill loved jazz. He talked about going to Birdland Jazz Club as a teenager and seeing live shows with Count Basie and Dizzy Gillespie. He said he was so lucky at a young age to see the very best jazz performers. He enjoyed listening to drum solos, going to concerts, and his favorite drummer was Buddy Rich.
He and his family moved to Westfield, NJ, in 1969, where he lived for 30 years before moving to Scotch Plains and living the last few years in Basking Ridge, NJ.
While commuting to NewYork City in the 1970s to work for Chase Manhattan Bank, he attended the New School for Social Research at night and received his Master’s in Psychology and completed studies towards his PhD in psychology.
In the 1980s, before the evolution of the internet, Bill created a visionary professional organization, The Human Resources Exchange. The HR Exchange created in-person networks of professionals looking for new job opportunities, assessing their transferable skill sets, and connecting them to different industries to help them along their career paths.
He was a lifelong learner and loved reading.
He once said, “Having a good book is like having a good friend.”
Some of his favorite books included “Sherlock Holmes”, “Jonathan Livingston Seagull”, and books on finance and health.
He spent many years studying nutrition and supplements and became a vegetarian in his 50s and was a fan of Carlton Fredericks and Gary Null. He loved watching movies of all kinds and the comedy show “The Honeymooners”. Together with his wife, Marie, he enjoyed traveling far and wide, driving all over from Canada to Florida, cruises to Bermuda and a transatlantic cruise from New York to London, and resorts in California and Hawaii.
He had a summer home at Belmar Beach, NJ, for 20 years and enjoyed time with his grandchildren.
He loved family pets, owning collies and schnauzers for many years, and in his retirement years, he owned cats.
In the past several years, he was predeceased by his sisters, Dottie D’Angelo and Franny Azzopardi, his son, Brian Keller, and his daughterin- law, Bonnie Keller.
He is survived by his wife of 63 years, Marie (nee McPartlan), children Ronald Keller (Cathy McHugh), Theresa Barr (David Barr), and Dave Keller, and his grandchildren Clare, Cara, and Grace Keller, Liam and Evan Barr, and Stephen and Jacqueline Keller, and great-grandson Armonn Keller, brother-in-law, Kenny D’Angelo, and beloved nieces and nephews, and his favorite cat, Blackie.
The visitation will be held on Friday, February 6, 2026 from 4 p.m. to 8 p.m. at Dooley Colonial Home, 556 Westfield Ave., Westfield, NJ 07090. A Funeral Mass will be celebrated on Saturday, February 7, 2026, at 9:45 a.m. at Holy Trinity RC Church in Westfield. Interment will follow at Fairview Cemetery. The repass will take place at The Westwood, 438 North Ave, Garwood, NJ07027 following Fairview Cemetery.
In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to Tunnel to Towers Foundation. t2t.org
