Homer W. Keller, our senior partner, died on Tuesday, June 9, 2009, at the age of 91.  He had practiced with the Westervelt firm for 66 years after receiving his law degree from the University of Illinois College of Law in 1943.  A respected counselor to clients, colleagues and friends alike, he was truly a lawyer's lawyer, highly regarded and sought after for his sound, practical advice given in clear and certain terms.  Now, as he would laconically observe about a pending labor dispute, "The contract has expired in accordance with its terms."

  He attended Franklin Elementary School and Peoria High School, graduating in 1936.  After one year at the University of Illinois, he transferred to the University of Idaho in Moscow, Idaho, where he graduated in 1940 with a bachelor of science in accounting.  While attending the University of Idaho, he lived with the family of Val and Helen Ruckman and their three daughters.  He became enamored with the oldest Ruckman daughter, Edith Virginia "Jinny".  Upon his graduation from The University of Idaho, Homer returned to Illinois to attend the University of Illinois College of Law in Champaign, Illinois.  Following his first year of law school, Homer returned to Moscow and married Jinny on September 11, 1941.

 Homer and Jinny moved to Champaign and lived there until Homer graduated with his Bachelor of Laws in 1943.  They moved to Peoria, where Homer joined the law firm of Miller, Westervelt, Johnson and Thomason on July 7, 1943.  Homer was admitted to the Illinois Bar in September 1943.  He became a partner in the law firm in 1952 when it was known as Miller, Westervelt and Johnson.  In 1968, the name of the firm was changed to Westervelt, Johnson, Nicoll and Keller.  Homer practiced labor and employment law, representing many prominent businesses and individuals.  He was a Fellow of the American College of Labor & Employment Lawyers and admitted to practice before the state and federal courts in Illinois and the United States Supreme Court.  He served as president of the Peoria County Bar from 1971 to 1972 and in 2005 he was inducted into the Pillars of the Bar by the Peoria County and Illinois Bar Association.

  He served for over 20 years as a trustee of the Greater Peoria Sanitary District.

  Known for his wry and sometimes biting, but well-intended humor, Homer enjoyed the company of fellow attorneys and judges and loved nothing better than gathering for lunch with members of the bar and bench and exchanging witticisms and political banter and barbs.

  He was a devoted family man to Jinny and his children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren.  He also enjoyed spending time at his cabin on Rice Lake in Fulton County, Illinois, where he tended a garden and hunted.  He especially loved to hunt ducks and geese and worked throughout each year preparing his duck blinds, equipment and strategies for the fall hunt.  He also participated in the Illinois deer hunt every year from its inception in 1957 until 2005.

  After 62 years of marriage, Homer's beloved wife, Jinny, died in 2003.  He was stunned by her passing and would always remark he would never have made anything of himself if it hadn't been for her.

  Homer practiced law at the Westervelt firm until his death, enjoying the steadfast and loyal support and admiration of all the firm's attorneys and staff, and particularly that of his devoted secretary, Maureen Sames.

  Homer will be missed by his family, friends, clients, fellow members of the Bar and his colleagues and staff at the Westervelt firm.  We are all better for having known Homer, especially those of us who were fortunate to be mentored by and work with him.

  Homer is survived by his four children, Margaret Anne Duncan of Lewiston, Idaho, Homer Michael Keller of Salt Lake City, Utah, Mary Susan Dunlop of Wichita, Kansas and Elizabeth Helen Minton of St. Louis, Missouri, together with seven grandchildren and three great grandchildren.