Elvin W. “Tuffy” Keeler, 80, of La Grande, died Friday, Dec. 11, 1990, at Grande Ronde Hospital.
Services will be held at 11 a.m. Tuesday at Daniels Valley Funeral Chapel, 1502 Seventh St., in La Grande, with Father Hank Albrecht of Our Lady of the Valley Catholic Church officiating. Private interment will be held at Hillcrest East Cemetery.
Mr. Keeler was born Aug. 30, 1912, in Wallowa to Jesse Lay and Rebecca (Poe) Keeler. In 1938 he moved from Wallowa to Baker City, where he worked as a car salesman for Poe Motor Co. He then came to La Grande as a car salesman for Hamilton Motor Co.
During World War II he owned and operated Taxi Cab 7, the taxi service in La Grande before going to work for Mount Emily Lumber Co. He later became an equipment painter for the Oregon State Highway Department until his retirement in 1977.
He enjoyed people and loved fishing, camping and horseback riding.
Survivors include his wife, Angela Jane Keeler of La Grande; three sons, Larry Keeler of La Grande, David Keeler of Seattle and Steven Keeler of Redmond; a daughter, Sandy Hill, Summerville; five grandchildren; and other relatives.
His sisters, Buella Caudle, Mildred “Minn” Haugsdale, Mable McBeth, Alberta Potts, Pauline “Hap” Bottorff and Ruth Keeler; and a brother, Kenneth Keeler, died earlier.
The Observer
La Grande, Oregon
Monday, December 14, 1992
Page 10
Contributed by: Tom Childers