Nancy Ellen Keller

Nancy Ellen Keller, 81, passed away peacefully, surrounded by family, on July 9th, 2025, in Overland Park, KS. She was born on June 2nd, 1944, in Salinas, CA, to Melvin and Betty (Miller) Hild.

Nancy graduated from Grand Island Senior High School in Nebraska, earned a degree in elementary education from Wayne State College in Wayne, Nebraska, and later earned a Master’s Degree in Social Work. She began her career as an early childhood educator, teaching kindergarten, and eventually directing a pre-school in Littleton, Colorado. As her family grew, they moved to Johnson County, Kansas, and Nancy chose to focus her love and care on her three young children, staying home to raise them and becoming involved with PTA and her children's various activities. Later, Nancy opted for administrative work, including Bitsies Inc., the Blue Valley School District, and finally with Johnson County Mental Health, where she retired in the early 2000’s in order to spend more time with her grandchildren.

Nancy was a kind and caring person with a whimsical sense of humor. Her family and friends were the most important things to her, and she loved spending time with them over a cup of coffee or a good meal. She enjoyed hosting holiday festivities at her home, baking and decorating fun cakes for her grandchildren’s birthdays, traveling on cruises with friends, reading books, sewing, and crafting.

She will be greatly missed by her family; her son Bryan Keller and his wife Amy Keller; her daughter Traci Putnam, her husband Durk Putnam and their children J.D. (wife Lucy) and Broc; and her son Jeff Keller, his wife Laura Keller, and their children Liv and Cole. Nancy was preceded in death by her ex-husband, Jim Keller, and her parents, Melvin and Betty Hild.

Nancy will be laid to rest at Johnson County Funeral Chapel and Memorial Gardens, where her beloved parents are also at rest.

In lieu of flowers, contributions in Nancy’s memory can be made to:

Friends of Johnson County Mental Health Center

friendsofjcmhc.org

Red Cross Disaster Relief (Central Texas Floods)

https://www.redcross.org