Bari Joy Keller-Brown

The Lord chose Bari Joy Keller-Brown to join His kingdom in Heaven on June 16th, 2025. While unexpected and too soon, her family take solace in knowing she did not suffer. Her husband, Jeffrey Brown, of 46 years was by her side, just as he was for the entirety of their joyous and dedicated marriage. Throughout her life, Joy was a one-of-a-kind spirit, a role model, wife, mother, grandmother, aunt, and friend, as well as a community and business leader.

As a child, she initially resented her cute, rambunctious little brother, David Keller, but she miraculously started liking him more when he grew stronger than her. She maintained their close bond her entire life. She graduated 8th at Susquehannock High School, class of 1974. Wearing the number 8 on her jersey, her team won the school's first state volleyball championship in 1974. She also played volleyball at Gettysburg College and graduated with a Bachelors of the Arts in Economics.

When her father Barry Keller re-married, she gained a stepmother, Judy Keller, and stepsister, Julie Shoemaker, who she welcomed and loved as part of the family.

A peace-loving, bra-burning hippie, Joy originally considered working in a greenhouse after college. However, her father owned an insurance business, then in its 3rd generation of family ownership, and was considering selling. Rather than sell to a stranger, he first gave his daughter the opportunity to join. She agreed on the condition that she could bring her cat to the office - and she didn't want to work on the weekends. Thus began her career in the insurance industry, spanning over 40 years.

On June 24, 1979, with wildflowers in her hair, she married the love of her life, Jeff Brown, at his parents' farm in New Freedom. He joined her in the family business, and together, alongside her father, they grew Keller-Brown Insurance Services, now located in Shrewsbury. Despite a demanding professional schedule with a growing business, she created the flexibility and freedom to be a devoted and involved mother. She was active in her children's lives, never missing a parent-teacher conference or an athletic event, and she always had a home cooked meal on the table. Her athletic talents were inherited by her daughters, Sarah and Emily. Also wearing #8 on their jerseys, they won state volleyball gold and silver medals.

Joy served her community in leadership roles too numerous to mention, but some of them include: President of Zion Lutheran Church Council, Southern York County School District Community Technology Committee, board member of Penn-Mar Human Services, board member of Wellspan Special Services, Treasurer of York Ag Business Council. In 2013, she was recognized as a Central Penn Business Journal Women of Influence, and in 2015, she was honored as the Distinguished Alumni and graduation speaker for Susquehannock High School.

Tending to her meticulous flower beds and gardens brought her peace and fulfilment throughout her life, as it did on her dying day. Her family enjoyed the fruits of her labor throughout the years in all the meals her canning and freezing provided. She relished the semi-retired life by spending hours in the vineyard, making home wine with friends, and she was active in the Glen Rock Historic Preservation Society. She had so much to be proud of, but her greatest accomplishment was her three children. Her oldest, Sarah Brown, continued the family legacy running Keller-Brown Insurance Services, now in its 5th generation of continuous family ownership. While Sarah serves the local community, Joy's twins, Emily Brown and Ben Brown, and their spouses serve our great country. Emily served in the Navy as a nurse, attending to patients in the emergency room and intensive care units in Bethesda, Kuwait, Guam, Guantanamo Bay, and San Diego. Ben is a Major in the Army and has protected our freedom in Iraq and Afghanistan, and currently serves as an Acquisition Officer for the Army Enterprise Marketing Office in Chicago.

In addition to her loved ones mentioned above, Joy is also survived by Sarah's husband James Morris and their daughter Claire Morris; Emily's husband Jerome Ragadio and their children Jack, Malaya, and Brooklyn Ragadio; Ben's wife Sara Brown and their children Wyatt and Miles Brown; Dave's partner Ellen Darby; and Julie's husband Dave Shoemaker. She is preceded in death by her mother Joyce Burkholder Keller, aunt Sandra Keller, grandmothers Arlene Keller and Julia Burkholder, and grandfathers Harold Keller and Ralph Burkholder. Whether you referred to her as Joy, Mom, or Oma, if you knew her, you loved her and know how deeply her presence on this earth will be missed.

Public viewings will be held on Sunday, June 22, from 3:00 pm to 6:00 pm and again on Monday, June 23, from 10:00 am until a funeral service begins at 11:00 am. All viewings and the funeral service will be held at Zion Lutheran Church, 49 Hanover St., Glen Rock, PA 17327. Interment will follow the funeral service in Zion Lutheran Church Cemetery in Glen Rock. For those who cannot attend in person, the funeral service will be livestreamed on Zion Lutheran Church's Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100064801293656ebook 

Donations in Joy's memory may be made to Zion Lutheran Church at the address above or to the Arthur Hufnagle Public Library, 32 Main St., Glen Rock, PA 17327. Online condolences may be made at www.geiple.com.