Ray David Keller

Ray David Keller passed away on August 7, 2026. He is survived by his wife, Valerie Jean Boehmer, and his only child, Kansas Keller.

He was born on December 15, 1945 at Cedars Sinai formally Cedars of Lebanon Hospital, Los Angeles, California. His parents were Robert Keller and Caryl Wexelman.

Ray grew up in L.A. and Beverly Hills. He graduated from Beverly Hills High School in 1963 and later attended the College of Idaho in Caldwell, Idaho, briefly, to avoid the Vietnam War.

When he left the College of Idaho, he received his papers from Selective Service. He knew then he was leaving the country. He ordered a transporter bus from Volkswagen in Hannover, Germany, and added an 8-track tape. He traveled with a young lady who was surfer like himself. He went all over Europe and Turkey.

HIs friend made him a satchel out of velvet to carry passports, keys, and anything they could easily lose. When Ray came back home, he hung it on the wall in his home. His father noticed it and asked Ray about it. He told Ray to make them and that's how "Carpet Bags of America" was formed.

Ray and his friend, Mark Slotkin sold their expensive cars and went into the ladies handbag business. Ray went to New York, bought a handbook on who the buyers were that bought accessory items. He then sold the business to his partner, Mark Slotkin, and with the money from the sale of the business, Ray bought the James Cagney home in Beverly Hills, California.

Ray had a love and passion for fast cars, In high school, his father bought him a Corvette and later a Porsche. So, Ray fell in love the the Ferrari. Ray had dinner with Enzo Ferrari one night in Italy. He started buying Ferraris in Europe and sent them to the United States to sell. He met a racecar driver named Michael Parkes who drove one of Ray's Ferrari's in the United States. If you look up "Funny Little Story", you don't have to add Ray Keller.

Later in life, in his forties, he went into real estate in Beverly Hills and Brentwood. He was very successful until the market went south. He then became very successful in the timeshare business in Las Vegas, working for Tahita Village. His best friend and boss was Chuck Rouse.

I met Ray shortly after he left working in the timeshare business. We moved to Ely, Nevada and started a business called Wolfie's Firewood, which was very successful, thanks to our dog, Wolfie.

He will be remembered for his love of family, sense of humor, and being a very hard worker.

In Loving Memory of My Father, 

Ray was a very sentimental man. He loved going to garage sales, searching for treasures among second hand antiques, collectibles, and things that others might have overlooked. He had a special gift for finding something meaningful in the most unexpected places. One of his greatest joys was finding those treasures and giving them to his only daughter. Those little gifts were his way of saying, I thought of you. They were small reminders of how much he loved me, and I will always cherish that.

My father had a love for horses—a love that may very well have rubbed off on me. He would always tell everyone about the two Western ponies he had in his backyard in Malibu. He also loved adventure and competition. In his younger years, he was a competitive skier and competed in surfing competitions. He loved to surf in Malibu, where he lived for many years, and he was always drawn to experiences that gave him a sense of freedom, excitement, and adventure. He loved horse racing and loved talking about thoroughbred lineage and the famous American horses in racing history. He also loved watching NASCAR on Sundays.

Ray loved Mexico, especially Cabo San Lucas. He returned to the same place again and again, where he loved to fish, relax, and enjoy the life he had created for himself there. He also had a tremendous love for travel. He traveled to many places around the world and loved telling people about his adventures and the places he had been. His stories were often conversation starters, even with complete strangers.

Ray was incredibly social. He loved meeting people, talking to them, and sharing his experiences. Ray loved the idea of love. He was passionate about the things he believed in and incredibly determined when he set his mind to something. When Ray wanted something, he pursued it with everything he had.

He also had an enormous love for animals. Throughout his life, he took wonderful care of his beloved family pets. There was Lucas, his big, beautiful orange cat that he adored. His heart dog, Burlington, and her sidekick, Bailey, were two of the great loves of his life. He cared for them devotedly until the day they passed. He also adored Marilyn Monroe, the Lhasa Apso he bought for his daughter—a breed he had loved since Burlington and Bailey. His last great love was Wolfe, his Husky mix, who held a very special place in his heart

.My father was born in a different time—a time when there seemed to be fewer rules, fewer boundaries, and fewer limits. As an only child, he grew up with a tremendous amount of freedom, and that became part of who he was. Ray lived a limitless life. Sometimes that fearless nature got him into trouble, and he was certainly not a perfect man. He made mistakes, as we all do. There were difficult times and things in his life that were complicated. But he was my father. And one thing I know for certain is that he loved me .I believe one of my father’s greatest achievements was becoming a father, because being a father taught him how to love in a way that nothing else could. He struggled in many ways throughout his life, but he never stopped trying to be my father. Until the very end, he loved me, supported me, and wanted the best for me. I know how much he loved me. I was the love of his life—his only child, his only daughter. My dad was 40 years old when I was born, and, in a beautiful twist of fate, I was born in the very same hospital where he had been born. My parents told me that my name was an Indian word meaning “earth.” I have always suspected that perhaps it came from the time they spent at Auntie Jennifer’s ranch on the Zia Pueblo Reservation in New Mexico. My father loved that reservation. He loved being at the ranch, being surrounded by the land, and experiencing a world that felt very different from his own.

My father also had a deep love for real estate. He became a successful real estate agent and real estate investor. His passion for real estate was one of the inspirations that led me into the business at such a young age. Real estate was part of our family history as well. His mother and father were involved in real estate in Beverly Hills and throughout the Los Angeles area. He was successful in timeshare sales, and he loved the art of the sale. Ray was an entrepreneur, a dreamer, and an adventurer. He started many businesses throughout his life and was always willing to explore something new. He worked hard and believed in creating your own path. He had countless funny sayings and quotes that he lived by, many of which I will probably hear in my head for the rest of my life. He was hard-working, and he instilled that same work ethic in me. For that, I will always be grateful.

Ray also loved his mom and dad deeply. He was especially devoted to his mother, my Grandma Cookie, and took care of her for many years as she grew older, until the day she passed. That was an important part of his life, and it showed the love and loyalty he had for his family. Some of my most cherished memories with my father are the simple ones: traveling to Mexico together, playing poker, having lunch and dinner dates, and talking on the phone I will especially remember our conversations when he would tell me how much he loved me and remind me that I could do whatever I wanted to do. He gave me the confidence and strength to believe that I could. I will remember his motivational speeches about passing the LSAT and getting into law school, and our conversations about finishing my law degree. I will remember his endless real estate advice throughout my career and the support he gave me throughout my life. Those conversations will always remind me that I was loved.

My mom and Dad had a great love for each other and tried to make their relationship work more than a few times. It was clear that there was always great love between them, even through the difficult times, until the day he died. Some of my most treasured memories are of being with both of my parents together when things were good. Christmases together were some of the most fun—watching them laugh, enjoy each other, and simply be together. Those are memories I will carry with me forever. He wanted to teach me about business. He wanted to see me succeed. He wanted to be there for me.

And in his own way, he never stopped trying. There is so much I will miss about my father—his stories, his personality, his adventures, his humor, and most of all, knowing that I could hear his voice on the other end of the phone. My father was not perfect, but he was mine. He was my Daddy. And despite all of life’s complexities, mistakes, and imperfections, the one thing that will always remain is the love between a father and his daughter.

Thank you, Dad, for teaching me about life, for teaching me about business, for your endless support, for believing in me, and for always reminding me that I could do whatever I wanted to do.

Thank you for being my father. Thank you for loving me. I love you, Daddy Duc.

Forever your daughter.

Kansas W. Keller