Marilyn (Stockert) Keller, formerly of The Ponderosa, Bismarck, ND, and in retirement of The Villages, Florida, passed away on Monday, April 11, 2016 after a January accident left her comatose. Born April 19, 1942, she was raised in Solen, North Dakota, the daughter of Frank J. and Mary (Froelich) Stockert. After high school, she began her college career in Helena, MT at Carroll College. Prior to graduating she returned to North Dakota where she worked as a medical record librarian in Bismarck for several years. She later returned to her studies and her calling to earn a Masters of Education at University of Mary in Bismarck. She always said “I was a first grade teacher by choice”.  She spent a 30 year career doing what she was meant to do and her innovations in teaching reading to first graders using American Sign Language (ASL) were visionary and effective. She was known for her quick wit, her readiness to laugh or help, and her passion for saving others, including animals. She was happiest when surrounded by friends and loved hostessing as well as attending neighborhood celebrations. A talented seamstress, artist, and hole-in-one golfer, Marilyn was not one to waste a minute of life. She is survived by her husband Daniel J. Keller to whom she has been married for 52 years. They met New Year’s Eve 1962/63 and the rest is history. They were inseparable until death. She was predeceased by her parents and her brother Harold.  She is also survived by her sisters Eileen Schmidt of Sharon, Kansas and Virginia Pinard of Penacook, NH, as well as numerous nephews and nieces. A celebration of her life will take place at the Cathedral of the Holy Spirit in Bismarck later in the year.
