I was a lecturer at the Dept. of Earth Science for several years, and it was always a pleasure to run into Ed. It was obvious that he had things to do, and sometimes his answers were a bit curt, but he always acknowledged an email I had sent or a question I had asked. When I was new to Santa Barbara, friends had clipped newspaper articles from a column in the Santa Barbara News Press for me where he described facets of the local geology. As a transplant, those vignettes helped me getting an understanding of the geologic framework I lived in. To my chagrin, Ed eventually stopped writing that column, but luckily, his book, Santa Barbara – Land of Dynamic Beauty, came out for me to delve into. By the way, it speaks of Ed Keller’s generous spirit and attitude towards education, that he gave the PDF version of this book away after the hard copies had sold out. (I am proud to say that I have a signed hard copy.)

In 2014, I developed an online version of a course on Geologic Catastrophes and chose Ed’s book Natural Hazards as the textbook for the class. I took advantage of having the author close-by and asked if I could make a short video with him to share with the students. Of course, Ed agreed. I crouched down in front of his desk with my old smart phone and just let him talk. If you know Ed, then you are aware that he was very good at formulating complete sentences and paragraphs, without any um’s or uh’s.
I watched that video again when I learned of Ed Keller’s death, which occurred a few weeks before hurricane Ian tore through Florida, and rediscovered his mentioning of these powerful storms. In hind side, this 40-second clip confirms that Ed absolutely knew what he was talking and writing about. Watch for yourself: https://youtu.be/JDsf85YKhQ0

I always had a great deal of respect for Ed Keller, and he will be remembered for linking and recognizing the beauty as well as the forces that shape our land.

My first recollections of Ed are of him being supportive of his students in the field. My first summer in the field with Ed in 1988 included Dennis Laduzinski, Ricardo Zepeda, Ed (Xiaolin) Zhao and Don Johnson. We all helped Zhao get his field work advanced around Frazier Mountain, while cleaning up work of the first two at nearby sites and getting me familiar with my master's thesis focus area in the Tejon Embayment. I have many memories of that field season that he supported physically, materially, and intellectually. His relationship with Don benefitted me greatly. Ed let me use his pop-up trailer tent for the remainder of the season after the others left. He was generous and supportive with us all as I recall. Including an outing with Nick, Zhao, and me in Owens Valley. And, of course, Nick's Island Entourage on Santa Cruz the summer of 1994.

Nick and I helped Ed and Valery host their wedding reception somewhere nice in SB. Nick might remember elements of that event better than me, alas that is all I recall. But Ed had already included us in his private life: such as recruiting us to play on his dart League team along with his blind and loyal geographer friend Reg Golledge - we were the best of the rest, finishing first in the lower division - and I remember a brutal outing in Ed's tin skiff to fish out by an offshore drilling platform. All we caught were bonito and poor Reg had internal bleeding the next week. Yikes, clearly not all good memories, but my point is that Ed was inclusive. He and Valery hosted a memorable graduation party at their Mesa home for Larry Dave V, and myself about 3 or 4 years before any of us would actually earn our degrees. But Ed supported our ambitions, however unrealistic they were at the time, demonstrating his faith in us unwaveringly.

Ed found work for his students who needed it. I benefitted from his affiliation with the Environmental Studies program he chaired during our graduate tenure in the form of TA assignments for ES1, Rivers, and Coastal Processes. He also swung me a Geology TA twice for Engineering Geology and was influential in helping me land other awards and support. When my life took a dive, it was Ed who had my back and called off the dogs that wanted to eject me from the PhD program.

Having an office space where we could interact with such luminaries as Tom Dibblee and spur debate with one another in a daily basis was truly a gift. I ran afoul of Ed's generally amiable nature one afternoon when needing distraction I cleaned our shared counter space in the Quaternary Lab. Among the things that I cleaned that day was his personal mug that he had spent years accumulating a thick, dark patina within. I ignorantly scrubbed the entire patina away and Ed was aghast to discover my misdeed. I later appreciated the time treasured trophy he had cherished after wearing down a soil pick to a nub following several field seasons of my own and feeling proud of the accomplishment it represented.

Lastly for now, who doesn't remember Ed's biennial office purge of books and articles? His dictation? His love of fishing and hence his interest in woody stream debris? His pride and excitement on discovery of a debris flow boulder field in his back yard on Las Canoas? Sorry for any names misspelled.

I am sure that more will occur to me to share in the near future, but for now that is all I can offer and I hope those memories trigger others to share.

Since landing in Santa Barbara, a year or so ago, as a new, hopeful, self-appointed, and extremely uninformed steward of the riparian woodland at the base of Rattlesnake Canyon (Frank and Lois Van Schaick's place), I never got the pleasure of knowing or even meeting this Las Canoas neighbor, Ed Keller. Perhaps there was an ambulatory hello. I don't know. I do know that I very much wish our paths had crossed, fully. This mention of lost opportunity in never meeting Dr. Keller (among fortunate folks who knew him well) is not just for any unreceived practical guidance he might have offered, given that so much of the breadth and depth of his knowledge he gave to the world is applicable to stewardship in Rattlesnake Canyon.

It seems self-evident that the loss to anyone and everyone in the passing of Ed Keller, even for those lacking your direct, personal interactions with him, could be expressed profoundly enough out of deep concern for the well-being of those who remain or appear after each of us is also gone. Someone wrote (yes, it was Mr. Keller) that "we have custodial obligations to the land that include the passing of land to future generations, along with all the beauty and resources the land offers." No doubt, our meeting this obligation to our children's children in the absence of Mr. Keller requires that we all step up and that Ed Keller did his best to help us do so.

Kudos to all who supported him throughout his life. All the best to all of you in your own good work.

Please see my tribute to Ed that was posted by the Indy here:

https://www.independent.com/2022/11/18/a-farewell-to-ed-the-boulder-hunter/

Words fail me in describing Ed but his personality shines in my memories. After retiring from UCSB staff I would sometimes bump into him at the Goleta Trader Joe's market and exchange updates. Though I was neither a colleague nor a close friend he always took a few minutes away from his errands to greet a fellow human and share some insights, and I'll miss that contact.
Rest in peace Ed, and thank you Eric Z. for this tribute page.

Thank you, Professor Keller; not just for what you taught, but for the engaging nature of how you taught. You're a true inspiration, and you will be missed.

that photo of Ed makes me smile! it is so ED!! a little sly, always cheerful, always excited about things...full of inspiration and the desire to engage with others. I can hear his little laugh coming through. I feel very lucky to have been his colleague and have benefited from his wisdom, ideas and energy. He looked for and cultivated the potential in others...a wonderful thing! thank you Ed !! 

Thank you Ed, from the bottom of my heart, for everything you've done for UCSB, the students in both Environmental Studies and Earth Sciences, and especially for me. Your passion, enthusiasm, unbridled energy, wisdom, leadership, creativity, and love for research, the environment, and your students will be greatly missed, but never forgotten!