In Loving Memory
Gerald L. Keller
January 10, 1940 – January 15, 2024
Virtual Celebration of Life
Wednesday, February 7, 2024
7:00 PM Eastern Time
Obituary of Gerald L. Keller
Gerald L. Keller, lifelong fly fisherman from Hunterdon County, took his final cast four days after his 84th birthday on Monday, January 15th at a senior care facility in Shrewsbury, NJ.
Born in Trenton, NJ, Jerry was the son of the late Sidney and Edith Keller, and brother to the late Ronald S. Keller. He is survived by his two daughters, Sheri Crowther and Molly Ford, and five grandchildren, Michael, Ryan, Ethan, Olivia and Jack.
As a high school athlete at North Hunterdon in Annandale, NJ, Jerry was a three-sport athlete in football, basketball, and baseball. He was a three-year starter as football quarterback, a three-year starter in basketball, and a standout hitter in baseball. He was named All-County Athlete three times while at North. He went on to play football, tennis and golf at East Stroudsburg State College in the Poconos.
Upon graduating in 1962, Jerry began a highly successful coaching career at Bernard’s High School between ‘62 and ‘71. In that time as head coach for football, wrestling and golf he had 11 of 12 winning seasons, including 8 State championships. At Hunterdon Central in Flemington, he led the Red Devil football team to 11 winning seasons, 2 of which were undefeated, and three Conference Championships. He saw many of his players go on to receive college scholarships to play ball. After his 20-year storied coaching career, he was named to the North Hunterdon, Bernard’s High School and the New Jersey Athletic Halls of Fame. He retired from teaching in 1992.
Jerry was an avid food and wine enthusiast and kept his bottles of Lafites under lock and key during his daughters’ teenage years. He would spend hours planning a grand dinner party menu and wow his guests with dishes like duck a l’orange, crown roast of lamb, coquille Saint-Jacques followed by a picture worthy Grand Marnier Soufflé.
In his later years, Jerry resided outside of Denver, Colorado, surrounded by the gorgeous Rocky Mountains, where he enjoyed fly fishing in nearby Wyoming with his fellow anglers, traveling with his beloved partner Joy Richardson, and cheering on the Denver Broncos.
Though he excelled at football, golf, wrestling and long-distance running, fly fishing was his religion. He traveled to Alaska, Canada, and mastered the art of tying flies in pursuit of the perfect hatch and the elusive trout and salmon he revered. His passion for the sport and love of the outdoors is how we will remember him, standing in his favorite beat on the Lackawaxen River.
In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions may be made to Fraxa Research Foundation (www.fraxa.org) or to The National Fish and Wildlife Foundation (donations.nfwf.org) in his memory.
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Coach – I was fortunate to share 4 years with you and My BHS Football Family !
Thanks for all of the great memories!
Rest in peace my friend !
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Fond memories of coach Keller! For some reason none of the spikes fit well or they ran out and he drove me to Morristown and paid for a great pair of spikes, too bad it didn’t make me faster. Rest in Peace Coach Keller.
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Coach Keller has been and continues to be a positive and inspirational influence on me and I am sure for many more of those he coached. His commitment, passion and drive are a standard to strive for every day. Rest in peace coach, it was a great run!
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Coach, thank you for giving us some of the greatest memories of our lives. You instilled in us a culture of excellence. Thank you for the opportunity to play for you for all 4 of high school. “Red B…Go!”
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The thing I remember most about Jerry was his passion for fishing. He loved fly fishing for
trout and he was very good at it. My friend will be missed.
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Coach, thank you for letting me be park of your staff on more than one occasion at Central. Through your leadership and hard work I became a better coach and person. Rest In Peace coach
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Jerry, your time with me was so enjoyable . You added something special to my sons every time you came to spend time with us at home or on the river. My time coaching with you was awesome…..
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Thank you Coach!!!!! Thank you for your passion and leadership- You taught us how to win and what teamwork was all about!! Rest In Peace.
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Thanks to Coach for believing in us as well putting up with us. Great times ’74-’75 seasons. Great seasons and coaching! My ears still remember his hat slap on the helmet. You are and will be missed!
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Coach Keller taught us what hard work and dedication to excellence can produce. Those early lessons have always served me well during my lifetime and still do today. I have such fond memories of my time around him as a player and student.
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1973-1975
Proud to have been part of Coach Keller’s football family at HCHS. His drive for achievement – results on and off the field has guided me to this day.
“Run it again “ at first misunderstood, became a welcome tool of building character and team unity.
RIP Coach.
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Coach Keller was a great football coach. His organization ,drive and ability to focus our team was amazing. He treated us all like men and he did not settle for mediocre performance but instead repeated plays until our team got things right….and our team responded. That is what separated Coach Keller from average…..it was his drive to have his players perform to a level he KNEW would bring us success. My condolences to his family.
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I was fortunate to meet Jerry through family. Jerry was such a sweet – kind man. I enjoyed fishing in Canada with Jerry and Joy on 3 occasions . So low key I can imagine he was very popular as a coach.
Jerry- leave us some of those heavenly salmon to catch ! Bet Ron was celebrating your arrival- thanks for the fun times .
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We will miss our good friend. We have so many happy memories with his frequent visits. Also, coaching our son in football which provided him with a college scholarship and a degree.
A unique man who made a difference.