Gloria Audrey Kelle

Gloria Audrey Keller, 94, of Port Washington passed away peacefully with her daughters by her side on June 14, 2024, in the Cove at Harbor Club in Port Washington.

She was born Jan. 8, 1930, in Cooks, Mich., the daughter of Joseph and Hattie (Cadreau) Miller.

She attended school in Cooks, Mich.

She moved to Port Washington in 1955, where she met and married Kenneth Keller on Aug. 31, 1957, at St. Mary’s Catholic Church. She later became a member of St. Peter of Alcantara Catholic Church.

When she first moved to Port, she worked as a nurse’s aide and lived at St. Alphonsus Hospital in Port Washington. In 2015, she moved back to the same building, now Harbor Campus, where she moved from independent living to assisted living and lastly to the Cove memory care.

She enjoyed being a stay-at-home mom while her family was young and later worked as cleaning person at Doerr Electric in Cedarburg and Thomas Jefferson Middle School and Harbor Club in Port Washington.

She was a member of the Sault Ste. Marie Tribe of Chippewa Indians. She enjoyed trips to the tribe’s casino when she was visiting family in Michigan.

Gloria was an amazing cook and baker. If you ever enjoyed her peach flip or Saturday lunch yeast buns, you did not soon forget. She was an avid seamstress, making her young daughters clothing, doll clothes and curtains among many other things.

Her love of God, Jesus, the Holy Spirit and her bible, which was always present, were the cornerstone of her life. “God bless” was the way she always said goodbye.

Gloria is survived by her daughters Donna (Joe) Leinfelder of Port Washington and Joy (Rob) Lenz of Wauwatosa; her four grandchildren, Joshua Orvis and Joseph (Stephanie) Orvis of Grafton, Jacob Orvis of West Allis and Samantha Lenz of Wauwatosa; and three great-grandchildren, Addison, Lucas and Madeline Orvis.

She is further survived by two sisters-in-law, Ruth Miller of Garden, Mich., and Martha Miller of Cooks, Mich., and many nieces and nephews.

She was preceded in death by her husband Kenneth in 1991 and her son Stephen in 2015. Also preceding her in death were her parents;  her in-laws Mathias and Bernice Keller; her two sisters, Margaret Cantrall and Viola Neadow; her brothers Edward Miller, Louis Miller, Arthur Miller, Alvin Miller, George Miller and Donald Miller; brother-in-law Edward Keller; and sisters-in-law Laura Didier and Carol Preisler.

A celebration of Gloria’s life will be held on Thursday, July 11, 2024, at Eernisse Funeral Home, 1600 W. Grand Ave., Port Washington. Visitation will be from 4 until 5:45 p.m., when there will be a short service.

She will be laid to rest next to her husband at St. Mary’s Parish Cemetery in Port Washington.

A special thanks to all the staff at Harbor Campus who made the last years of her life so enjoyable. She was treated with love and respect and always said with a smile, “I have nothing to complain about here.” Also, a special thanks to Allay Hospice, which made her last days as peaceful and pain free as they could. Thank you.

Eernisse Funeral Home, Port Washington, is honored to serve the Keller family.

Online condolences may be left at www.eernissefuneralhome.com.

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Ozaukee Press

Wisconsin’s largest paid circulation community weekly newspaper. Serving Port Washington, Saukville, Grafton, Fredonia, Belgium, as well as Ozaukee County government. Locally owned and printed in Port Washington, Wisconsin.

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