Michael Keller is St. Patrick’s Parade Grand Marshal

By Sun Advocate

Michael Clark Keller, the principal of the Castle Valley Center, is this year’s Price St. Patrick’s Day Parade Grand Marshal. The parade down Main Street will begin at noon Saturday.
Keller is a lifelong resident of Carbon County. He is the first child of seven born to Daniel Clark and Athlen Keller of Price. Keller attended Durrant Elementary in Price, then Mont Harmon Junior High and Carbon High School. He attended the College of Eastern Utah, graduating with an Associate in Science Degree. Mike then served a two year LDS mission to Ohio and West Virginia. After his mission, he attended Brigham Young University, graduating with a Bachelor of Science degree with a teaching certificate in Vocational Education.
He began his teaching career in Price, first spending 10 years working with adults with disabilities at the Ann Self School in Spring Glen. During his first year of teaching, he met Lana Lessing, also a first year elementary teacher at Durrant. They were married in June 1978. Mike and Lana have raised their six children, Emily, Kristin, Daniel, Michael, Angela and Jana, in Price, In October 1987, the Ann Self School moved to the present location of the Castle Valley Center in Price. Keller has spent most of his time there as the principal, working with preschool, school age, and adults with disabilities living in the Carbon-Emery County area.
His hobbies include woodworking, fishing, hunting and working in various positions with the Boy Scouts. The Scouting program has been important to him and says he sees firsthand what amazing youth we have here in our area.
This June, Mike, Lana, Angela and Jana along with the girls’ husbands, Lance and Brett, will visit Ireland. This has been a dream of Angela and Jana for some years. In doing some research about their family and Ireland, it has been found that Keller’s third great-grandmother was born in Ireland. Her last name was Clark, the same as his middle name, so he will be checking out his Irish roots and heritage and is in fact some Irish after all.