David Keppler
d. March 23, 2017
David Keppler, age 57, of Athens, passed away on Thursday, March 23, 2017 at his residence. He was born October 23, 1959 in Lake Forest, Illinois, the son of Robert and Marion Choss Keppler.
Dave is survived by his mother, Marion of Springfield; two sons, Brandon (Veda) Keppler of Athens, Jeff (Megan) Keppler of Illiopolis; two brothers, Ernie (Sharon) Keppler of Riverton, Robert “Bobbie” Keppler of Springfield; one sister, Desirae Keppler of Newport Beach, CA; and seven grandchildren.
He preceded in death by his father, Robert Keppler, and a nephew, Robert D. Keppler.
Dave graduated from Athens High School in 1977.
He was employed by Baugher Implement, Balster Trucking, and Higginbotham Excavating. Dave later owned and operated Keppler Excavating.
He enjoyed firearms, helping friends with mechanical problems, and truly loved his work.
Visitation will be held from 10:00 until time of funeral service at 12:00 noon on Thursday, March 30, 2017 at Mott & Henning Funeral Home in Athens.
Burial will be held at Joel Hall Cemetery in Athens.
Rev. Rick Williams will be officiating.
Mott & Henning Funeral Home is assisting the Keppler family. On-line condolences can be shared at www.mottandhenning.com.
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Posted March 28th, 2017 at 9:49 pm
Dave was a natural born mechanic. I have many fond memories of working with him on his Ford trucks from roughly ’77-’82 as well as help he provided me on my Mustang. We stuffed a ’70 429 into one of his F250’s in my dad’s pole-barn one cold weekend. The barn had a concrete floor but no insulation in the walls and no heat. Dave had to make custom motor mounts for that one. That truck was a beast! He had a 390 in another truck that would pull down to 100RPM in gear at a stop-sign. Dave could just feather the gas pedal and drive away never using the clutch. We pulled trucks out of snow drifts, and had to be pulled out ourselves in 20-below weather. Crazy, cold, but loved every minute – it was never dull! He broke a lot of front axles, and many other parts going where others couldn’t or wouldn’t. When something wasn’t running right, he always knew just what it needed. He didn’t need a timing light, he tuned by ear. Best friend a person could ever have.
With deepest condolences,
Matt Sale
Posted March 31st, 2017 at 10:38 am
I have fond memories of Dave. He was a very hard worker and a talented individual with a good sense of humor. He was always willing to help a person in need. Dave will be missed by many!