Charles E. Keller, 74, instrumental in having a World War II memorial erected at Rainbow Beach in the South Shore neighborhood, died Sunday in the Illinois Veterans Home in Manteno. Mr. Keller was an Army master sergeant in World War II and was a past commander and a lifetime charter member of Woodlawn American Legion Post 175. He was a delegate to the Cook County Council of the American Legion. He was named Man of the Year by the Jewish War Veterans in 1967 although he was not Jewish. Mr. Keller, a retired truck driver who formerly lived in Riverdale, is survived by his wife, Carrie; a daughter, Judi Fitzgerald; four grandchildren; a great-grandchild; and three sisters. Mass for Mr. Keller will be said at 11 a.m. Thursday in St. John Fisher Catholic Church, 10234 S. Washtenaw Ave.
