Tribute: Fred W. Kellerman was ‘the best man’ in many ways
By MEREDITH RODRIGUEZ
The Kansas City Star



Who: Fred W. Kellerman, 90, of Kansas City.

When and how he died: Dec. 2, from complications of ALS and Parkinson’s.

Loving home: The Kellerman home resembled Union Station, said his only daughter, Sue Bussjaeger.

“It was a neat house to grow up in, I’ll tell you,” she said.

Kellerman’s 11 children and their friends meant people were coming and going constantly. All of his children’s friends were on a first-name basis with Kellerman.

“He always made you feel like you were one of his own kids,” said son Brian Kellerman. “He involved himself in everybody’s lives.”

His pride and joy: In the Kellerman home, the mom was the boss. Kellerman always referred to himself as the junior partner. His children remember how he always greeted his wife, Josephine, with a kiss when he entered the house.

All of the love in their home stemmed from there, according to son Sean Kellerman.

Because of his example, Brian Kellerman chose his dad to be his best man at his wedding.

“I remember the priest saying he’d never heard of such a thing,” Brian Kellerman said. “The person I wanted standing next to me would best resemble all those things about marriage. I felt like having him there would put me on the right path to a successful marriage.”

Joyful: Kellerman was charming, kindhearted and always smiling.

“He just had a great disposition about him,” said Sean Kellerman.

His children can’t remember him ever saying a negative word.

“He was the kind of guy who never worried about anything. If he did, you’d never know. If he ever suffered, you’d never know,” Brian Kellerman said. “I can’t ever recall a time where he was even mad.”

Instead he focused on the simple and the beautiful.

“Simple things in life meant more to him,” his daughter said. “He found joy in going for long rides in the fall.”

Legacy: Everybody around Kellerman thought he was larger than life.

In religion class, one of his grandkids listed reasons to nominate Kellerman for sainthood. He was a devout Catholic, and he imparted that faith to his large family, mainly through his example.

“He was a very strong character with the highest integrity,” son Kevin Kellerman said. “He loved his wife, his family. Clearly he loved his God.”

Still, he was anything but a bore.

“As saintly as all of that makes Dad sound, what I think we all loved about Dad was he was such a character,” Kevin Kellerman said.

Even though he was too humble to name any of his 10 boys Fred, he was the type of man you would want to be named after.

“Now that he is gone, I wish my name was Fred,” Tim Kellerman said.

Survivors: His wife, 11 children and their spouses, 25 grandchildren and 11 great-grandchildren

The last word: Bussjaeger remembers the week before he died, when she was decorating the Christmas tree. Her father had lost his ability to speak above a whisper due to ALS and was trying to say something. Kellerman put his hand to his heart. When she came near to listen, he told her that it wasn’t about the decorating. It was about the people.

“You just can’t feel that he’s gone,” she said. “His presence is so strong.”

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