Starla J. Keller, 57 of Battle Creek, died on Tuesday, October 26, 2021, at her home surrounded by her family following a long illness.

Starla was born August 9, 1964, in Liberal, Kansas to Leroy M. and Jean A. (Bronemann) Grimm.  She graduated from Litchfield High School and went on to Lake Superior State University graduating as a Registered Nurse.  She later went back to get her master’s degree from Western Michigan University in Social Work. On July 9, 1988, she married Paul A. Keller at Saint Anthony’s Catholic Church in Hillsdale.

Starla had been working as a social worker for the Veteran’s Affairs Medical Center in Battle Creek for the past 29 ½ years. Prior to that, she was a pediatric nurse for a short time at Hillsdale Hospital. Starla was a member of the Saint Joseph Catholic Church where she helped with CCD. She also was a member of the National Association of Social Workers.  Starla enjoyed traveling, her trip to Italy with Saint Phillip Catholic Church group, and training with her daughter and son-in-law for many 5k races.  She along with her husband Paul, loved gardening, traveling, and visiting arboretums. Starla had a joy for life and will be remembered for her humor, jokes, and love for adventure.

She is survived by her husband Paul; her daughter Lindsey (Dennis) Casey III; stepdaughter Sara Keller; one grandchild, Jase Casey; her mother Jean Grimm; siblings Mark (Khristina) Grimm and Jeff Grimm.  She was preceded in death by her father Leroy Grimm, and sister, Terry Lynn Grimm.

Visitation will take place from 1-3pm on Sunday October 31, 2021, at the Kempf Family Funeral and Cremation Services 2838 Capital Ave SW Battle Creek MI 49015. Memorial contributions are requested to the Humane Society of Southcentral Michigan, 2500 Watkins Rd, Battle Creek, MI 49015 (https://hsscm.org/)  or to Veterans of Foreign Wars 406 W. 34th Street
Kansas City, Missouri 64111 (https://www.vfw.org) . Leave a personal message for the family and sign the online guestbook at https://www.kempffuneralhome.com