William A Keller

William Allen Coppage Keller of Dumfries, VA, died peacefully and surrounded by family, Feb. 12, 2015. He was born in Hawaii in 1940 to Mary Virginia Coppage Keller and Navy pilot Clarence Armstrong Keller but considered himself a son of Virginia, where he was raised and generations of his family had lived.

He loved sports and played on every boys team at Robert E. Lee High School in Staunton, VA. He also enjoyed watching sports, especially his beloved Duke Blue Devils, and, with his son Charles (Woody), the Washington Capitals.

Mr. Keller studied political science at Duke University, graduating in 1962, and received his law degree from William & Mary Law School in 1965. At Duke, he was a member of Kappa Sigma fraternity. Following law school, Mr. Keller joined the FBI as as special agent serving in Detroit and, after attending the Army Language Institute in Monterrey, CA, in Tampa, Florida.

In 1968, he left the FBI to practice law in Northern Virginia, where he specialized in land title issues. He did not retire fully until 2014 and was known to younger practitioners, who often consulted him, as “the professor”.

Mr. Keller was also, with his wife, publisher of Prince William County’s local Messenger newspapers, serving Montclair, Dumfries, Dale City, Woodbridge and Lake Ridge during the 1980s and early 1990s.

Mr. Keller is survived by his wife of 45 years, Gail Stern Keller, children, William Allen Coppage Keller Jr. and his wife Margret of Augsburg, Germany; Virginia Keller of Danville; Rebecca Lucie Keller Mulder and her husband Kenneth of Stafford; and Charles Edward Keller and his wife Carisa of Woodbridge; eight grandchildren, Dmitri, Tristan, Solveig, Selma, and Charlize Keller, and Katherine, Charlotte, and Elaina Mulder, and numerous nieces, nephews, and friends.

The family held a private service. Arrangements were handled by Mullins and Thompson of Stafford, VA. Memorial contributions in his name can be made to the American Heart Association or the giver’s charity of choice.