Community mourns loss of rec center director
Tonya Keller, 48,
well-known for work with Just for Toddlers
Tonya Keller
MIDDLETOWN — The township recreation community was saddened and stunned by the untimely death of a woman considered to be a beloved leader in the area of recreation — Tonya J. Keller.
Known as a friend to people of all ages and an advocate of anything that would make life more fun, Keller, a resident of North Middletown, died unexpectedly at the age of 48 on July 24 at Riverview Medical Center, Red Bank.
For 26 years she worked for the township’s recreation department, manning the Bayshore Recreation Center in North Middletown. About half her years spent at the center were dedicated to coordinating the facility’s Just for Toddlers preschool program.
Gregg Silva, Middletown Parks and Recreation director, said, "She was a wonderful, caring, dedicated person — one of a kind. Tonya Keller touched a lot of people’s lives — kids, moms, dads, seniors, anyone she came in contact with. We would watch the Just for Toddlers graduations together and she’d say to me with pride, ‘That’s a child of someone who I had in this program years ago. It’s nice to see generations go through.’ "
SARAH McCOLGAN Flowers and other mementos were placed near the sign at the Bayshore Recreation Center in Middletown in memory of Director Tonya Keller.
"Though I didn’t know her very well, I’ve heard so many great things about Tonya everywhere I go," Mayor Joan Smith said. "People like Tonya are what solid communities are all about. Residents just loved her.
"From what I have seen and heard, her dedication was incomparable. She didn’t receive nearly enough credit for the above-and-beyond work she did at the recreation center. The program was extremely well run, and she kept the center in absolutely pristine condition," she said.
That recreation center is now strewn with flowers and memorabilia honoring a community woman whose presence will be sorely missed.
"We think we’ll be dedicating the center to Tonya, naming it after her," said Silva. "It’s the least we can do for someone who did so much for Middletown.
"The outpouring of people who are feeling the loss has just been incredible. There are so many people whose lives she passed in and out of; it’s been amazing to see all those people come together in a show of appreciation and to sadly say good-bye to someone who had such a great impact in so many ways," said Silva.
Impact was something that Middletown Michael Slover, Municipal Drug and Alcohol Alliance director, counted on and got from Keller, whom he called "a wonderful person who was one of the best workers I have ever met in my 35 years working for the township."
"When we ran a drug and alcohol prevention program, Tonya would show up and support us by giving out literature and hot dogs," he said, "She was a member of the alliance, but in her capacity as the Bayshore Recreation Center director, I can honestly say, on behalf of the alliance, she supported our programs and we supported hers in a great partnership. She will be missed terribly."
"Everyone knew or at least heard of Tonya Keller," said former Township Committeeman Joseph McGrath, who lives near the recreation center. "Not only was she a major figure in community recreation, but she was known as a woman who made time for everyone. Wherever kids were involved, she was there. She would take busloads of kids to Yankee Stadium just to give them something fun to do. Everyone is shocked and at a loss because of her all-too-early death."
Silva said he doesn’t know how Keller could ever be replaced.
"She’d give you the shirt off her back," he said. "To say Tonya is going to be difficult to replace is an understatement."
Outside of her professional life, Keller was known to her peers as an avid Yankee and Redskins fan who also loved the cartoon dog Scooby Doo.
Born in Marysville, Tenn., she lived in Pennsylvania before making Middletown her home 26 years ago.
In addition to serving as Bayshore Recreation Center director, Keller also drove a school bus for Keelan Bus Co., North Middletown, and worked part time at the Athlete’s Alley, Shrewsbury.
In her free time, she was a coach and avid team player on the Bayshore Women’s Softball League. She co-founded the Bayshore Men’s Softball League and was coordinator and coach for the Jesse Owens Track and Field Team.
Keller was a member of myriad local and state organizations, among them the N.J. Recreation and Park Association, the Middletown Day Committee and the Middletown Municipal Drug and Alcohol Alliance. She was also a public notary of New Jersey.
The Middletown Day Committee had its first meeting right after Keller’s death. "It was difficult conducting the meeting without her," said Silva. "She was a staple of that committee for so long. We decided that we’d honor her memory by having staff wear [the initials] ‘T.K.’ on their shirts."
The recreation department has set up a memorial fund in Keller’s memory.
Although she had no children of her own, Silva commented that Keller had "more than 500 in Middletown who benefited from having known her. Tonya’s legacy of helping others will live on through this fund in her name."
Donations may be made to The Tonya Keller Fund, c/o Middletown Parks and Recreation, 900 Leonardville Road, Leonardo, NJ 07737.
The fund is multifaceted and will be dedicated to providing scholarships for students graduating from a local high school who attended the Bayshore Recreation Center, needy families who cannot afford the fee for the Just for Toddlers program, and will supply an endowment for the future growth of the recreation center. For more information, call (732) 615-2260.
Keller is survived by her mother, Gertrude Keller of Carlisle, Pa.; two brothers, Robert Keller of Bullhead City, Ariz., and Scott Keller of Akron, Ohio; and a sister, Tamara Keller, Pleasant Valley, N.Y. She was predeceased by her father, Robert G. Keller. Visitation and a funeral service were held July 27 and 28 at John F. Pfleger Funeral Home, Middletown.