Barbara Elizabeth Keller

Barbara Elizabeth (Lopacki) Keller on Wednesday, May 6, 2020,  age 82, proud mother of seven, passed away peacefully from complications of a stroke, at Mandrin Chesapeake Hospice House in Annapolis, Maryland.  She is the daughter of the late Sigismund and Helen [Wrotniak] Lopacki.

She married Robert J. Keller in 1969.  He predeceased on September 18, 1982.  

In 1992, Barbara met her loving companion John H. Ellington.  He predeceased on April 30, 1999.

Barbara was born in 1937, the second of four children.  She was raised in the Polish-American community of Niagara Falls, and happily spent many of her childhood summers in Holloway Bay, Ontario.  Her memories of the family’s summer home in Holloway Bay were lovingly interwoven with scenes and stories from the Sherkston Quarry, Crystal Beach, and the adjacent amusement park.

Barbara (or ‘Basia’ in Polish) proudly attended school at Stella Niagara, where she was introduced to the Sisters of St. Francis, whose teachings would always serve as the primary guidance in her life. 

Barbara attended Niagara University in the late 1950s before starting her family.

Barbara raised her seven children first in Falls Church, VA, then Niagara Falls, NY and lastly Sarasota, FL.  She was a loving, dedicated and unselfish mother who always placed the needs of her children in front of her own.

Barbara loved to laugh, and had a wonderful sense of humor, often uncovering a comic twist in unexpected areas of life.  She was kind and thoughtful, and generously reached out to those in need.  Above all else, Barbara fiercely advocated for her children and loved them all unconditionally.  She passed on that same great sense of love and kindness, through words and actions, to her children and grandchildren.

Barbara is survived by her 7 children, Maureen (Tom) Ferraro, William (Sandy) Delaney, Mary (Michael) Quillen, Maggie Delaney and Anthony Bianco, Michael (Katherine) Keller, Noel (Sonya) Keller, and David (Andrea) Keller; her 15 grandchildren, Delanie (Edward) Kos, Flynn DiGuardia, Callista ‘Callie’ DiGuardia, Eliza Quillen, Henry ‘Hank’ Ferraro, Noel A. Keller, Carson Keller, Ashton Keller, Macy Keller, Juliana Keller, Colton Keller, Adeline Keller, Declan Keller, Livia Keller, and Easton Keller; and her sister, Alexandra Fowle.  Barbara is predeceased by her sister Helen Plato and her brother Sigismund ‘Buzz’ Lopacki.

Friends and extended family are invited to attend her Mass of Christian Burial on Saturday, July 17, 2021 at 9:00 AM at St. Peter Roman Catholic Church, 620 Center St., Lewiston, NY 14092.

Graveside service and interment immediately following at Gate of Heaven Cemetery, 500 Riverdale Ave, Lewiston, NY 14092.

Memorials in Barbara’s name can be made to The Sisters of St. Francis, Holy Name Province, Inc., 4421 Lower River Rd., Stella Niagara. NY 14144, or online via http://www.stellaosf.org/supportus.

Visit www.rhoneyfuneralhome.com, for guest register

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