Jack Keller was born on November 9, 1918, in Appleton, Wisconsin. After attending grade school and high school in Appleton, he graduated from Appleton Business College in 1938. He received additional schooling in 1949 from the College of Advanced Traffic and in 1950 from the Interstate Commerce Commission (ICC) Law School. Jack passed the bar exam and was admitted as an ICC Practitioner.

In 1939, he joined Kimberly-Clark Corporation working in traffic management. He established the Motor Carrier Operations Division and encouraged the corporation to procure airline equipment for corporate air travel service. Working with Kampo Transit, he helped create operations for removal and handling of sulfite waste liquor from paper manufacturing for use in the road binder roadway program in Wisconsin.

Jack served in the U.S. Army from October 1942 through April 1946 enlisting as a private soldier in the 9th Army. He served in the European Theater through the end of World War II on May 8, 1945 as Master Sergeant Major of the 548th Field Artillery Battalion. He was discharged honorably with several battle stars. Jack authored the history of the battalion published in Europe in 1945.

He joined Kampo Transit, Inc. in 1951 as Vice President/General Manager. The company handled transportation of paper industry liquid products throughout North America.

In 1953, Jack founded J. J. Keller & Associates to service regulatory problems for the paper industry and transportation service generally. The organization was incorporated in 1958 and continued to provide regulatory consulting and publishing nationwide.

Today, J. J. Keller & Associates, Inc. has over 1,000 associates and cash flow in excess of $200,000,000. The corporation offers over 6,000 products and services to meet customer needs including compliance publications, regulatory forms and supplies, software, Internet services, and consulting services. This overall operation is unique to the industries serviced.

In the 1990s, the Keller Foundation, Ltd. was established and a donor-advised fund was created at the Community Foundation for the Fox Valley Region, Inc. Today, the giving spirit of the Kellers lives on in the J. J. Keller Foundation, the John J. and Ethel D. Donor Advised Fund at the Community Foundation for the Fox Valley Region, and the J. J. Keller Foundation Fund at the Oshkosh Area Community Foundation.

Jack was inducted into the Paper Industry International Hall of Fame in 2001 and the Appleton West High School Hall of Fame in 2004.

In addition, he was a life member of the Interstate Commerce Commission bar, a past director of Delta Nu Alpha, a past director of Associated Bank, and a past appointee to the Ninth National Bank Region Advisory Committee. Jack was also a member of the Fox Valley Traffic Club and a life member of the American Legion and the Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks.

Jack has three sons (Robert, James and Thomas). Ethel, his wife of over 60 years, passed away in December 2004. Jack passed away in June 2007.

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