Altogether<br/>4307 Vineland Road, Suite H-17-19, Orlando, FL 32811<br/>For more information, visit our website at <a href='www.altogetherfuneral.com'>www.altogetherfuneral.com</a><br/>Copyright © 2025 FPG Intermediate Holdco, LLC

Frank Ferd Kelling, 91, of East Troy, Wisconsin, passed away on Sunday, December 13th , 2020

at Fairhaven Senior Residence in Whitewater, WI, after contracting the coronavirus and

developing other complications.

Frank was born on Tuesday, July 30th , 1929 to Frank J. and Erna A. (Mundt) Kelling at Mercy

Hospital in Janesville. He spent his early years in Johnson Creek, graduating from Johnson

Creek High School in 1947. He then attended Wisconsin State College at Whitewater

and became a member of the Delta Kappa fraternity (the house later became a

student rental property where his daughter lived in while attending UW-Whitewater as

well). He graduated in 1958 and earned a Bachelor of Science - Elementary Education degree.

The day after his college graduation, he married his sweetheart, Ruth Sidona Klemke, on Flag Day:

Saturday June 14 th , 1958 at St. John’s Evangelical Lutheran Church in Johnson Creek, WI. He

then began his career as a sixth grade teacher at East Troy Junior High.

He furthered his studies by earning a Master of Science: Educational Psychology degree

in 1965 from UW-Madison, and transitioned to the position of school psychologist for the East Troy Community School District. He held this position until the time of his retirement in June of 1991. He thoroughly enjoyed his tenure there

and made many friends along the way. Many remember the Ticonderoga pencils that

accompanied him to each evaluation.

Frank served in the United States Army on active duty during The Korean War, until his

honorable release to the Enlisted Reserve Corps for a period of five years. He earned the Korean

Service Medal with one Bronze Service Star, and the United Nations Service Medal with one

overseas bar.

He was a member of the Wisconsin School Psychologist Association, St. James Church of East

Troy, and the Experimental Aircraft Association. He was a self-taught, but very accomplished,

woodworker and created many classic pieces over the years including models of airplanes,

boats, board games, signs, birds, benches, birdhouses and feeders (that became squirrel houses),

camping kitchens, ornaments for each grandchild, and wooden features to place on his infamous

snow sculpture animals. He would carefully study images and work diligently to complete the

project. Frank also enjoyed repurposing items that he would find on trips to Goodwill or St.

Vinnie’s, then present them to family, friends and visitors to their house. When he was able, he

enjoyed gardening, hunting Up North, airplanes, bird watching, nature, camping, hiking,

watching skydivers, kites, and hot air balloons. He enjoyed the work of Leo Buscaglia and Fred

Rogers, and sought to make others laugh or feel special, occasionally sending cards “signed” by

a famous person he knew a person liked, making secret installations of woodcut animals along

highway on-ramps or on a pole near your home, using “extra” paint to coat the street sign pole or

a rock in a neighbor’s yard, complimenting people on their appearance, and other escapades.

Before his vision failed, Frank was an avid reader and life-long learner. He encouraged curiosity

and a sense of wonder. “Papa Questions” were often anticipated prior to family gatherings, like

“If you put all the pies eaten today end-to-end, how many times would it circle the earth?” Total

 

strangers occasionally became friends after he “pulled a Frank” as it became known to family,

often asking random individuals, “How do you like your car?” “Is that a good restaurant?”

“Where did you get that shirt?” He enjoyed asking following the activities of his children,

grandchildren, nieces, nephews and their children as they grew, often writing details or taping

newspaper clippings into notebooks to spark later conversations. The circus held a special place

in Frank’s heart. His sisters remember trips they took with him to the circus and many other

experiences he gave them. And let’s not forget his deep, hearty laugh.

Frank is survived by his son, Christopher K. Kelling (Laurie E. Lambert) of Morrow, OH; his

daughter, Renée K. Barr (Charles B. Barr) of Fort Atkinson, WI; his grandchildren Molly C. Barr

of Oakdale, MN, Kate L. Barr of Madison, WI, Owen L. Kelling of Cincinnati, OH, Claire E.

Kelling of State College, PA, and Hannah E. Kelling of Lakewood, OH; his sisters Joyce Konkol

of West Allis, WI and Gail Frasier of Lake Mills, WI; his cousin Shirley Bendall of Watertown,

WI, and many other nieces, nephews, and friends.

He was preceded in death by his wife of 62 years, Ruth S. (Klemke) Kelling (by about 48 hours),

his mother Erna, his father Frank, and his uncles Owen E. and Roy F. Kelling; as well as many

other uncles, aunts, and cousins.

No visitation or funeral service will be held at this time due, in part, to the current public health

situation, but also his personal wishes. Frank expressed a hope that one day some of his cremains

might join his beloved stocking cap (made from wool yarn that Ruth carded, spun, and knitted)

that blew onto the rocks by Lake Michigan and was taken by the crashing waves into the lake. A

private family memorial may be planned at that time.

In lieu of flowers, please consider a donation to your local food pantry, school (remember those

Ticonderoga pencils), Goodwill or other organizations, so a child who may need the basics can

enjoy life just a bit more. Be curious and adventurous (but safe). Help your friends and

neighbors. When you can, visit the elderly. For now, send cards, pictures or other signs of hope

to those who may find it slipping away. Other expressions of sympathy can be sent to his

daughter, Renée (620 W. Cramer Street) who will share them with the rest of Frank’s family.

Thank you, friends and neighbors in East Troy, past and present, for keeping a watchful eye on

Frank and Ruth, especially as the years took their toll. Your visits, cookies, cards, calls or other

contacts helped shorten days when nothing seemed to be moving around out their window. They

both wanted to stay in the home (that seldom changed) for as long as they could, comfortable in

the routine of their lives with their little dog, Sophie, and the Westies that preceded her. Thank

you also to the staff of Home Helpers of Burlington, WI; so many fellow teachers and former

students, and finally, the many thoughtful, caring and dedicated employees at the Fairhaven

Senior Residence who provided care, comfort and compassion during his stay and final hours. 

“The man who was the circus is weak

Close his eyes, let him sleep…

And while he sleeps he can’t help remembering…

The man who was the circus is gone

Still the show must go on.”     - SHEL

 

Nitardy Funeral Home is assisting the family with arrangements.

Online condolences can be made at www.nitardyfuneralhome.com

When words can't fully express what we want to say, sometimes a small gift can. Visit our Memorial Store for personalized gifts, keepsake jewelry and to plant a memorial tree.

We use cookies to improve your browsing experience and analyze site traffic.
<privacyLink>Privacy Policy</privacyLink>.

<firstParagraph>We also use third-party cookies that help us analyze how you use this website, store your preferences, and provide the content and advertisements that are relevant to you. These cookies will only be stored in your browser with your prior consent.</firstParagraph><secondParagraph>You can choose to enable or disable some or all of these cookies but disabling some of them may affect your browsing experience.</secondParagraph>

<firstParagraph>We use cookies to help you navigate efficiently and perform certain functions. You will find detailed information about all cookies under each consent category below.</firstParagraph><secondParagraph>The cookies that are categorized as 'Necessary' are stored on your browser as they are essential for enabling the basic functionalities of the site.</secondParagraph>

Advertisement cookies are used to provide visitors with customized advertisements based on the pages you visited previously and to analyze the effectiveness of the ad campaigns.

Analytics

Functional cookies help perform certain functionalities like sharing the content of the website on social media platforms, collecting feedback, and other third-party features.

Functional

Necessary cookies are required to enable the basic features of this site, such as providing secure log-in or adjusting your consent preferences. These cookies do not store any personally identifiable data.

Necessary

Performance cookies are used to understand and analyze the key performance indexes of the website which helps in delivering a better user experience for the visitors.

Performance

Customize Cookie Preferences

Verification Successful!

New Message

The following files could not be uploaded

Ways you can honor {memorialName}'s memory:

Donation Link

Upcoming Event

Featured Mementos

Welcome Message

Select an item to highlight

Add a highlighted item

Customize which items you’d like to highlight on the memorial

Create Account

Become a Keeper

As a free {brandName} user, you will only be able to make 5 photos and videos public.

As a free {brandName} user, only the first five (5) Mementos are visible to page visitors. You can change which Mementos are public by dragging and dropping a photo or video to one of the first five positions. Upgrading to {brandName} Plus will make all 10 Mementos selected visible to the public.

All Mementos

This option is only available to Keeper Plus users.

To allow yourself and the rest of the community to view all images and videos, and to enable everyone to download their own copy of these mementos, upgrade your account to Keeper Plus.

This memento is not visible to visitors

Your community has posted {itemCount} more pictures and videos that honor {firstName}'s memory. To view them all, and to enable everyone to download their own copy of each, this account will need to upgrade to Keeper Plus.

View all images and videos with Keeper Plus

Our Obituary Assistant helps you craft a meaningful life story in minutes. Review and edit every detail, and unlock more features with Keeper Plus.

Obituary Assistant

Spend as much time as you need working on your Memorial page before it is visible to the public, and much more, when you upgrade to Keeper Plus.

Save Page as Draft

Create unlimited event pages and unlock a suite of powerful features to help you seamlessly coordinate event details, invites, and more when you upgrade to Keeper Plus.

Event

Create a full picture of your loved one’s community and add unlimited family and friends to Loved Ones when you upgrade to Keeper Plus.

Loved One

Create unlimited Memorials — and unlock unlimited images and videos, event pages, and advanced privacy settings — to help you keep memories alive when you upgrade to Keeper Plus.

Memorial Page

Add unlimited Stories to highlight the all the things that made your loved one unique, from milestones, images, albums, documents, locations, and much more.

Highlight Stories

Upgrading to Keeper Plus means you can add additional Keepers to help you gather Mementos and tributes, approve content, build out a family tree, and tell {firstName}' story on Keeper.

Invite Keepers with Keeper Plus

Upload and display unlimited photos and videos, use unlimited Story templates to highlight key moments, and allow friends and family to download their own copies when you upgrade to Keeper Plus. 

Better Mementos with Keeper Plus

To access memorial related configurations that control the display of the banner upgrade to Keeper Plus.

This configuration  is not available on your current plan

Create a meaningful link path to add a personal touch to {firstName}'s memorial.

Custom Memorial link

Gift Messages

SENDING AS A GIFT?

Cart

About 1-800 Flowers

"Flowers were beautiful and they arrived in time before the funeral. Thank you and will purchase more in the future.!"

Hearing Tears

"Beautiful flowers, I've always enjoyed sending them to my love ones for sympathy and they have always love them very much Thanks for making people feel good when receiving them."

Sympathy

"This was true to the photo and good to know family took arrangement after the service."

Beautiful arrangement.  Perfect size for service.

Some of the great things our customers say about us

We're here to make it a little easier, with thoughtful gifts for the services & home, along with expert advice on how to be there during a difficult time.

Flowers

Gift Baskets

Express Your Deepest Sympathy

About Us

Perfect Condolence Gift

No one is meant to grieve alone

Peace and love

Product is made, packaged, and sent with love

Keepsakes

How to add your gift message

Packaging Information

Shipping information

Add a Personalized Charm to the Ornament:

Other Keepsakes

Install KeeperQR onto any headstone, urn, or other memorial in minutes.

Install

Use your phone or tablet to scan the unique code — no other tools required!

Scan

All three of our elegant KeeperQR designs are printed using durable, weather-resistant aluminum designed for indoors and outdoor use on headstones and urns, memorial benches and trees, or other monuments to your loved one’s life

Built to Last

Get <discount>50% off</discount> Keeper Plus with your KeeperQR purchase

Keeper Basic

Learn About Our Plans

Connect the physical and digital worlds to share your loved one’s life story with friends and family, no matter where they are.

KeeperQR Memorial QR Code Plaques

Planting a memorial tree or bereavement tree is a unique, environmentally conscious way to pay tribute and honor the memory of your loved one. Keeper Memorials is supporting American Forests to plant whitebark pine trees as well as thornscrub trees in select regions of the US and Canada.

Memorial Trees

KeeperQR is designed to pair seamlessly with a Keeper digital memorial. Use our FREE intuitive tools to create biographies, maps, and timelines, share photos and videos, and more with customizable features built to commemorate your loved one’s life’s story.

Powered by Keeper

Lifetime without any hidden costs or subscription traps

One time payment

Keeper is SOC2 compliant, keeping your memories safe and secure.

Data protection guaranteed

We bring your QR Codes to any corner of the globe

Worldwide Shipping

Our durable and beautiful QR code plaques create seamless connection between your loved one’s physical memorial and their digital memorial, allowing visitors to their final resting place instant access to their life legacy.

Memorial.

Honor their memory, share their story

A KeeperQR is a weather-resistant plaque with a custom QR code that links directly to your loved one’s digital memorial. When placed on a headstone, urn, bench, or tree, it allows friends and family to scan and view their life story instantly

What is a KeeperQR?

They’re built to withstand outdoor elements and adhere to most surfaces.

Where can I place the KeeperQR?

How does it work?

Frequently asked questions

KeeperQR

E-Certificate Design

Plant Memorial Trees as a Living Tribute

BRAZIL

CANADA

FLORIDA

OREGON

Memorial Project Reach

Memorial trees start at {price} per tree, with discounts for multiple trees

Our Commitment

Gift Baskets & Food

Keeper Plus

QR Plaques

Keepers Featured Products

A Greener Way to Remember

Learn about our Partners:

Help Us Complete Your Order

Remembrance Store

Through your unique link, your client can sign up for Keeper and create a Memorial for a loved one. When the Memorial page is completed by the family, it will appear on your microsite and website. You will be the main Keeper Administrator of the Memorial, along with the family member that created the page.

Invite Your Clients to Create a Memorial

Invite Families

Your Email Notifications

Notifications

Email Unsubscribe Settings

Other Settings

With your active Keeper PLUS subscription, you get unlimited access to a suite of powerful features:

Allow visitors to download a local copy of all images and videos.

Download Media

Create a custom and meaningful URL, unique to your loved one, for each Memorial page.

Editable URL

Plan public or private events and invite your loved ones.

Event Pages

Add images and create profile pages to illustrate the history and genealogy of your loved one.

Family Tree

Invite unlimited administrators to help you manage every Memorial page you have.

Keeper Administrators

Visitors enjoy unrestricted access to all uploaded images and videos.

Unlimited Media

Create unlimited Memorial pages for your loved ones.

Memorial Pages

You will be able to upload Full HD videos instead of embedded links.

Video Uploading

Your Profile

Add a business user

Edit a business user

Are you sure you want to delete these users from these brands? You will need to manually add these users again.

If the user is a part of multiple brands, you will have to delete the user from each one individually

Delete Users from Brands?

Users Settings & Notifications

Users

Are you sure you want to delete these users? This action will revoke their privileges across all brands.

Are you sure you want to delete this user? This action will revoke their privileges across all brands.

Delete Users from all Brands?

Delete User from Brand?

Are you sure you want to delete {totalDeletes} from this user?

Delete Roles from this User?

Are you sure you want to delete this user from this brand? You will need to manually add this user again.

Delete User from this Brand?

Requires users to confirm their email every time they would like to share a tribute on a Memorial page.

When Email Tribute Validation is turned OFF, Guest users do not need to confirm their email address before their tribute is published.

When Email Tribute Validation is turned ON, Guest users will need to confirm their email address before their tribute is published. They will receive an email with a confirmation link they must click.

Requires users to confirm their email only the first time they would like to share a tribute on a Memorial page.

Email Tribute Validation

If Flagged Content is turned OFF, content that has been flagged will remain public until they have been Approved or Removed from the Requests Center.

If Flagged Content is turned ON, content that has been flagged will be hidden until they have been Approved or Removed from the Requests Center.

Hide Flagged Content

Language

Email Notifications

Are you sure you want to delete the Memorial for {name}? This action will permanently remove the memorial from the system.

Delete Memorial?

When Memorial Request Moderation is turned OFF, Memorials will automatically be published.

When Memorial Request Moderation is turned ON, Memorials will only be published if and when you approve them. Memorials can be published or deleted in the Requests center.

Memorial Request Moderation

Moderation Settings

This will permanently delete your account. The business account, and business page will not be deleted. To deactivate your account, there must be another admin user assigned to your organization.

Are you sure you want to deactivate this account?

When Override Tribute Moderation is turned OFF, the tribute moderation settings on Memorial pages will be hidden and other Keepers cannot override the tribute moderation settings specified by your organization.

When Override Tribute Moderation is turned ON, other Keepers can view and change the tribute moderation settings of the Memorial pages they manage. (Each Memorial page will default to the organization’s tribute moderation setting upon creation.) 

Override Tribute Moderation

If the AI Content Moderation is OFF, text areas containing profane language will be published.  Tributes can however be flagged and removed at any time.

If the AI Content Moderation is ON, text areas containing profane language will not be published and the user will receive an error message.

AI Content Moderation

When Tribute Moderation is turned OFF, Tributes will automatically be published. Once published, users can flag inappropriate or spam content. You can instantly delete any Tributes published on a Memorial that you administer.

When Tribute Moderation is turned ON, Tributes will only be published if and when you approve them. Tributes can be approved or rejected in the Requests center.

Tribute Moderation

When Tribute Validation is turned OFF, Tributes will automatically be published. Once published, users can flag inappropriate or spam content. You can instantly delete any Tributes published on a Memorial that you administer.

When Tribute Validation is turned ON, Tributes will only be published if and when you approve them. Tributes can be approved or rejected in the Requests center.

Frank Kelling Obituary | Altogether