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| Mary Lou & Chuck Keller/Facebook |
Soon-to-be-retired Highlands High School English teacher Chuck Keller and his wife Mary Lou Keller have been named Grand Marshals for the 2014 Fort Thomas Independence Day Parade.
Keller made the announcement today, via Facebook:
The parade, an annual staple in the Fort Thomas community, will take place on the morning of Friday, July 4th.
As FTM has reported, Keller — a 27-year veteran of the HHS teaching squad and current English Department Chair — announced earlier this academic year that 2013-14 would be his last. Keller left a significant impact on the 4,000+ students he had the opportunity to teach and mentor over nearly three decades serving Fort Thomas Independent Schools.
Perhaps the Kellers were chosen to emcee the parade because they themselves are also staples of the Fort Thomas community. FTM’s Jessica Duke put it this way, in her tribute to her former teacher and mentor:
I had Mr. Keller my junior year; I came to his class as one who never seemed to enjoy school. Math was my nemesis but English was a close second. He, more than any other teacher, was able to ignite in me that spark for lifelong learning that so many strive to achieve but so few actually do. As unique an experience as that was for me, this was the effect he had on the majority of his 4,000 students.
In her own Facebook posting about the appointment, Mary Lou joked, “I’m just there by default.” But, again, Duke sees it differently, pointing out how Mary Lou has been instrumental and gracious in sharing her husband with the rest of their community:
If you know Chuck, you know Mary Lou… Mary Lou is also one of the two defining characteristics of what makes a good life, per Chuck’s personal philosophy: “The two things that shape you as a person are 1) With whom you choose to share your life; and 2) what you decide to do”. Mary Lou is the former, teaching the latter.
FTM hopes the Kellers’ appointment as Grand Marshals this July 4th marks a continuation of what has been a long tenure of impact on our community, even after “Uncle Keller” leaves HHS to go spend his days with his bride.