"Words cannot adequately express my love and appreciation for you, but I will give it a try…

WOW what a life I have had! And now I get to experience it in a new way as I graduate to the next level. One close to God but in another way. One that I really cannot describe or comprehend. However, I have gotten to know Him through the years with you and in you. Your love and friendship has allowed me that privilege.

I look back on my formative years and cherish the love and support given to me by my parents, Robert and Betty McKellar, my bother Bobby McKellar and his family, and my sister and family, Bree Saum. Today I cannot believe how fortunate I have been to have Barbara as my wife, Jamie my daughter with her husband Alan and daughter Anna Grace and Clara, my son MacKenzie with his daughter Ellie. What each of you has shared with me, tolerated me and love me is beyond belief. Especially you Barbara, my darling beloved wife, my companion, my partner, my friend, my lover and my sweetheart.

The love of you my friends who have so graciously bestowed upon me will always be remembered and cherished. For those classmates at Aiken High School, the U. S. Marine Corps during Vietnam, the South Carolina Department of Corrections (staff and inmates), Carter, Goble and Lee (CGL), the U.S. Department of Justice in Iraq, the U.S. Department of State and PAE in Afghanistan along with the Afghan prison officials, Creative Corrections, ICE detentions inspections, and the members of the South Carolina Board of Juvenile Parole, just to mention a few. I am indebted to you for the opportunities you gave me. To those of you my friends who live on Lake Murray, South Carolina those on the mountain top of Poplar Ridge in West Virginia, and those of you who worship on the holy grounds of St. Francis Assisi Episcopal Church, you will always be with me in mind, body and spirit.

In my departure please do not shed a tear, but rejoice with me in celebrating my life with you through good food and drink, laughter, hugs and kisses. Just think what a fantastic time we have had together. And now I have the totally new experience of being with Our Lord in another fashion, form and manner.

To you my family, friends, and colleagues, I propose a toast to you!

God Luv Ya!"

There will be a celebration of life for Ken McKellar at 11am on Saturday, July 12, 2025 at St. Francis of Assisi Episcopal Church, 735 Old Lexington Hwy, Chapin, SC 29036. A reception will follow the celebration of life in the fellowship hall.

In lieu of flowers, please make donations to a charity of your choice.

Whitaker Funeral Home is honored to serve the family of Kenneth McKellar.