Nurse worked for ALS awareness
BY ANDY RATHBUN
Pioneer Press
Anne Keeler, an Eagan resident and advocate for awareness of ALS, died of the disease Wednesday. She was 55.

In July 2003, Keeler was diagnosed with ALS, a fatal, debilitating condition also known as Lou Gehrig's disease. After her diagnosis, Keeler became involved in advocacy and research issues surrounding ALS. The disease also took her father's life.

Last year, she received the 2005 Awareness and Advocacy Award from March of Faces, a national organization promoting awareness of the disease. Keeler also traveled to Washington, D.C., to speak with legislators about ALS.

"She went above and beyond to raise awareness and help others," said Lisa Kronk, a registered nurse at the Minnesota chapter of the ALS Association. "Whenever someone wanted to talk with someone who was diagnosed, she would talk with them."

Keeler grew up in Shoreview and graduated from Mounds View High School in 1969. After she graduated from Normandale College in 1971, she was offered a job as a dental hygienist in Geneva, Switzerland, and worked there for 15 months, traveling and immersing herself in the French language. She married Gordon Keeler in 1975 and eventually moved to Eagan, said her sister Lora Pollari-Welbes.

She returned to school in 1992 to become a registered nurse and took a job at Midwest Health Center for Women in Minneapolis. She continued to work at the health center after she was diagnosed, leaving in 2005 after 10 years.

Keeler's daughter, Bonnie Keeler, said her mother was interested in politics and how it affects people's lives. She was particularly interested in women's issues and supported political candidates by volunteering with their election campaigns.

"She always knew who was running for office, and people would call her to know who to vote for - who were the good guys," said friend Victoria Rader.

Keeler was diagnosed with ALS 15 years to the day after her father received his diagnosis of the disease. Soon after, family and friends rallied behind her and formed a Share the Care group, a network of people available to give care and support. The group helped lift some of the burden from Keeler's husband and two children by giving ongoing help without the family needing to ask. The care group of more than 40 people that came to Keeler's aid showed just how much her mother made a difference in people's lives, Bonnie Keeler said.

"There are some people that touch your life more than others. Annie is one of those people," Kronk said. "I'm a better person for having known her."

Last year, in a St. Paul Pioneer Press article on Keeler's battle with ALS and the care-giving group that supported her, Keeler spoke through a voice amplifier, her voice weakened by the disease, and said, "You don't get to plan when you die or how, but you can decide how to live your life."

In addition to her sister Lora of Arlington, Va., husband Gordon and daughter Bonnie of St. Paul, Keeler is survived by son Brian of Eagan; mother Lois Pollari of Lake Nebagamon, Wis.; brothers Keith Pollari of Stillwater and Kevin Pollari of Shoreview; and sisters Jan Bong of Little Canada and Lynn Koll of Lake Elmo.

Services will be held today at 2 p.m. at Unity Church-Unitarian, 732 Holly Ave., St. Paul.