Sara Ann Keller

Sara Ann Keller, long-time resident of Logan, Utah, passed peacefully through the veil Saturday, July 1, 2023. She was born February 5, 1943, the second of four children born to Wesley and Aldora Alder Keller. Her parents, her brother, Michael, and a nephew, Samuel Wittwer, preceded her in death. She is survived by her brother Ivan (Judy) Keller, her sister Mary Susan (Arthur) Wittwer, and many nieces and nephews. Sara Ann attended elementary and junior high school in Logan. Her favorite pass-times included reading, coloring with crayons, cutting out paper dolls, writing stories, and playing the piano. She also helped with customary chores of living at home. For Sara Ann, chores also included helping to milk cows, weeding the garden, and delivering newspapers with and for her brothers. In 1956, the Keller family moved to Maryland where her father continued his employment with the United States Department of Agriculture. Sara Ann completed junior high and high school in Maryland before returning to Logan where she enrolled at Utah State University, graduating with BA and Master's degrees in English. She taught full-time at Towson State Teachers' College in Maryland for a few years, then returned to Utah where she studied for a doctorate in comparative literature to provide continued opportunities for college-level teaching. Sara Ann interrupted her studies to serve a full-time mission for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Germany. Upon returning, she moved to Maryland to work with her brother, Mike, in his printing business "just for a year." Fifteen years later, she was still helping with typesetting, managing the xerox copy machines and the front desk, and helping Mike with a bakery he owned that produced, among other things, an awesome New York-style cheesecake. Sara Ann returned to Logan in 1997 to help her parents so they could stay in their home. She was their major source of care until they both passed away. Over the next few years Sara Ann developed a number of chronic health issues. Despite these limitations, she created a productive and rewarding profession teaching college courses online in English composition, writing, and critical thinking. Her teaching touched many lives. A common comment from her students was that they had gone into class believing they were already good writers and that it would be a waste of their time, but that after her class they had become much better writers. Sara was not naive about the challenges of online teaching. The unpredictable nature of classes and class size did not lessen her devotion to each student, even though it required long hours to do so. She had an uncompromising standard of excellence which sometimes caused conflicts with students who were looking for an easy grade. She had both integrity and compassion, and the best interests of her students at heart. Sara Ann described herself on her LinkedIn page as follows: "I am an experienced (education and 30 years) online college teacher of Composition I and II, Business English, Creative Writing, and Literature Survey (British and American). I emphasize The Writing Process, research and persuasion strategies, critical thinking, and mastery of grammar and punctuation rules (for error-free writing). My favorite quote, from Christa McAuliffe, is 'I touch the future. I teach.'" In addition to teaching, which Sara Ann actively engaged in until age 79, she has two volumes of short stories being published. Funeral arrangements are being handled by Nelson Funeral Home. Services will be held on Friday, July 28, 2023, in the 9th/21st ward meeting house of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, 125 East 500 North, Logan, Utah. Viewing will begin at 10 AM followed by a memorial service at 11AM. Interment will follow at the Logan cemetery. The family would like to express special thanks to the staff of Maple Springs Assisted Living and to the Bishopric and Relief Society of the Logan 9th ward.