Howard T. Keller
Howard Thomas Keller of Collingswood, NJ (group photo).
Rank: Private, U.S. Army
Entered service from: New Jersey
Died:
Burial: Calvary Cemetery, State Highway 70 & Hampton Road, Cherry Hill, NJ
Private Howard Thomas Keller, known to friends as “Danny,” was born in 1927, the son of Howard F. and Helen E. Keller of 227 Guilford Avenue, Collingswood, NJ. A musically gifted child, he gave his first piano recital at the age of 12 and served as an altar boy at Holy Savior Church in Westmont for eight years.
Howard Keller entered the Army in August of 1944, at the age of 17. Within a week of induction, he was stricken with infantile paralysis (polio). He was transferred to Camden Municipal Hospital on February 20, 1945, for treatment from his station in Brooklyn. He was a part-time patient until March 11, when he was admitted to the hospital full-time. Private Howard T. Keller died on March 27, 1945, at Camden Municipal Hospital. He was 17 years old.
He was survived by his parents and two sisters, Joanne and Marlene.
Howard T. Keller is memorialized on the War Memorial on Haddon Avenue in Westmont (Haddon Township), NJ.
Church Rites Monday for Private H. T. Keller
Camden Courier-Post —
Services for Private Howard T. “Danny” Keller, 17, of 227 Guilford Avenue, Collingswood, who died Tuesday in Camden Municipal Hospital, an infantile paralysis victim, will be held at the Foster Funeral Home, 800 Haddon Avenue, Collingswood, Monday at 9:00 AM.
A requiem mass will be said at 10:00 AM in Holy Savior Church, Westmont, where Keller served as an altar boy for eight years.
Keller, the son of Howard F. and Helen E. Keller, was stricken with the disease in August a week after he entered the Army. He was transferred to the Camden hospital February 20, for treatment from his station in Brooklyn. He was a part-time patient until March 11, when he was admitted to Municipal Hospital.
In addition to his parents he is survived by two sisters Joanne and Marlene, of the home address.
Collingswood Youth in Piano Recital
Camden Courier-Post —
Tonight Howard T. Keller, 12, son of Mr. and Mrs. Howard F. Keller, of Collingswood, will give a piano recital at his parents’ home. The first part of the program will include compositions by Bach, Schumann and Mozart, and the second part will be devoted to compositions by modern composers.
Howard is a pupil of Rosella H. Steen, of Collingswood.
Photos
The Keller family home at 227 Guilford Avenue, Collingswood, NJ (July 2004).