Obituary of Robert Keller

Robert George Keller Inventor, Chemical Engineer, Lover of Nature Bob Keller, 88, of Basking Ridge New Jersey, passed away peacefully with family on April 5th, 2017. He was born August 18th, 1928 in Chicago, Illinois. He served in the United States Naval Reserve and the Illinois Naval Militia for six years earning an honorable discharge. He received his Bachelor of Science in Chemical Engineering from Illinois Institute of Technology and was a member of Pi Kappa Phi fraternity. He worked more than fifty years in food preservation and packaging. During employment with the Department of Defense, he developed the process of preserving food in pouches for which he received a special commendation. This process made major components of the Meal Ready to Eat (MRE) ration possible. Part of his activities there required Top Secret Clearance. He was also director of the R & D Associates for the Armed Forces at Natick Labs. The later thirty-five years of his active career were with CPC International in Chicago, Boston and New Jersey. During his career as a Chemical and Packaging Engineer he earned ten US patents and various awards. He was a long-time member of the Institute of Packaging Professionals and was elected chairman of the New England and New York/New Jersey chapters. He later engaged in consulting for some years before retiring. Some of his passions included SCUBA diving, wreck exploring, lobstering, and sailing the boat he built. His homemade beer, wine and liqueurs were legendary. He was very active in the Union County Hiking and Biking Club and completed three Century rides. Camping and fishing were favorite vacation activities especially at Cumberland Island National Seashore, Acadia National Park, and Cinnamon Bay in the Virgin Islands. He hiked parts of the Appalachian Trail with his daughters, and fostered a love of the outdoors that carries on through the generations. He traveled widely and took a keen interest in how things work. He never stopped learning and sharing knowledge. All of his grandchildren remember building Legos, tinker toys, paper dinosaurs, and anything that could be built with their grandpa. He is predeceased by his wife of 32 years, Loretta and daughter Darlene. He is survived by his daughters Linda Dickison, Donna Klein (Stephen), son in law Gregory Celikyol and long-time love Mary Doyle, as well as seven grandchildren, and two great grandchildren. A Celebration of Life will be held in August.