John M. Keller ’61

John died Oct. 29, 2014, in Lake Forest, Ill., of a trauma incurred during a fall.

Born in Sussex, N.J., he prepared at Blair Academy. At Princeton, John majored in biology and ate at Terrace. He was a member of the choir, the Glee Club, and the University Band. His senior-year roommates were David FitzGerald, Kenneth Golden, Burr Loomis, and Stephen Ryter.

Following Princeton, he earned a Ph.D. in biochemistry at MIT in 1966. After fellowships at Berkeley and Chicago, he joined the University of Washington faculty. In 1977 he became a tenured associate professor at Rosalind Franklin University in Chicago and then became a professor of biology in 1981. His award-winning research there involved extra-cellular matrix proteins and the regulation of basement membrane structure. He retired in 2002, but remained closely involved in science and academics.

“We salute our great friend and colleague,” the university’s faculty announcement said, calling him “an exemplar of a multifaceted and global life in discovery.”

John lost his wife many years ago, and they had no children. He is survived by his sisters, Anne K. Schwartz and Linda K. Morrow. We join them in mourning his passing.