We’ve been questioning a few people, in an attempt to find out why a man like Earl Keller has an unmarked grave in Pleasant Hills Cemetery in Hughesville. Shirley Crawley, Hughesville, set us on this journey. Earl Keller, born in 1922, spent his young years in this area. The son of Paul and Helen Keller, he graduated from Hughesville High School in 1940 as Valedictorian. He then earned degrees at Johns Hopkins University and Massachusetts Institute of Technology. He later earned his doctorate while teaching at New York University.

According to his February 2016 obituary, his career kept him traveling to other countries

throughout most of his working life. He was a consultant to industry and government, supervising multinational project teams for RCA, GE and Litton Systems. He was systems manager for two launchings of the German solar probe HELIOS, which flew within 18 million miles of the sun to measure solar activity. He also helped develop air traffic control systems for the United States, Canada, Iran and Saudi Arabia. In addition, he helped to design the initial Earth Resources Technology Satellite (LANDSAT) as well as the USAF/NASA Data Relay Satellite (TDRS). After his retirement in the 1980’s, Keller was recognized as one of the few “American Men of Science.”

Earl had a brother, Harry Keller, who, according to Harry’s widow, Jeane, Allentown, PA., was encouraged by Earl to go to college, which he did, earning an electrical engineering degree. “Harry and Earl were close,” Jeane says. “Both brothers were good-natured, but quite serious — especially Earl. And both were very intelligent.” Harry, who died in 2015, held six patents with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office. He worked at AT&T and Bell Laboratories. He is buried in Allentown.

So with the help of a few relatives, we got some answers. According to Jeff Miller, Huntersville, whose father, Carl, was a first cousin of Earl’s, “Earl died in New Jersey in 2016. Due to an age-related mental decline, Earl’s wife, Helen, was unable to handle arrangements. She turned her personal care and her considerable inheritance from Earl’s death, over to her hairdresser, who “hired” a mortician from the Allentown area. The mortician brought and buried the body at Pleasant Hills, held a brief funeral, and promised to return at a later date to do the inscriptions on the tombstone. He did not keep his word. So Earl’s family and small town were left with an unmarked grave for a man of remarkable accomplishments. Earl Keller’s first cousin, Arlene O’Connor, of Vermont, relayed the following information: “I tried to go through the American Funeral Association, writing letters to complain about this mortician. But they never responded, so I just gave up after a while. As it turned out, the “mortician” who buried Earl didn’t even have a license to perform these duties. It was a shame.”

If any of our readers can help remedy this unfortunate situation or know of a way to help, please contact shirleyconfer@gmail.com It seems wrong not to honor, at least with his name, one of our own.