Ernest R. Keucher

KEUCHER, Ernest R., 89, of Kettering, passed away February 7, 2026, at One Lincoln Park.

Ernie was born July 12, 1936, in Philadelphia, PA, the son of the late Ernest T. and Hilda (Fischer) Keucher. He was also preceded in death by his sister, Elsbeth (Betty) K. Miner; nephew, Robert (Bobby) Graham; grandparents Otto and Margaret Keucher, and John and Wally Fischer; uncles T. Rudolph (Ethel), Werner G. (Martha), and William F. (Edith) Keucher (cousin Peggy); aunts Erna (Walter) Warrick (their son, cousin Don) and Dorothea (Fred) Uecker; and cousins Barbara Holman, Fred Jr., and Johnnie Uecker.

Ernie leaves to mourn his passing his siblings, Erna K. Graham (nieces and nephews Warren Jr., Linda, Paul, Richard, Carol, and Nancy Elizabeth) and William F. (Ann) Keucher (Billy Jr. and Donna); his sons Rahn (Gina) and Robert (Cris); his grandsons Blake, Jacob, Damian, Noah, Alessandro, and Sebastiano‑Luca Keucher; and cousins Tom, Steve, Jerry, Nancy Jane Keucher, and Sherry K. Cormier.

A proud veteran of the United States Air Force, Ernie served as a Pharmacy Specialist at Ellington Air Force Base and Laredo Air Force Base in Texas. He earned a Bachelor of Arts in Physics from Franklin College, Indiana, where he was a member of Chi Beta Phi (chapter president), Alpha Phi Gamma (treasurer), Blue Key, and the Horizon Society, and served as vice president and president of Franklin Independent Men. He later completed a Master of Arts in Management from Central Michigan University at Wright‑Patterson Air Force Base.

Ernie’s career included service with the Defense Electronics Supply Center in Dayton; the United States Civil Service Commission in Chicago as a full‑field investigator for a six‑state region; and 30 years with the Air Force Institute of Technology, Admissions Registrar’s Office, Wright‑Patterson Air Force Base. His professional affiliations included the American Society of Engineering Educators, the School of Civil Engineering faculty guidance team, the School of Systems and Logistics, and the Society of Logistics Engineers (SOLE). He also contributed as an environmental editor, textbook editor, and historian for the Air Force Institute of Technology (AFIT) publications.

Ernie was a devoted member of the Dorothy Lane American Baptist Church in Kettering for more than 60 years. During those six decades of service, he served as treasurer, moderator, mission board member, deacon, and sang joyfully in the choir for 56 years. He also served as treasurer of Metropolitan Christian United; vice president and secretary of the Dayton Area Baptist Association; and board member and treasurer of Mercy Manor, as well as vice‑chair of the Dayton Christian Center board.

In retirement, he worked with NCI in Fairborn and at E. Rahn’s Artisan Bread in Dayton.

Ernie’s hobbies included singing with the Society for the Preservation and Encouragement of Barber Shop Quartet Singing in America (SPEBSQSA), reading, proofreading, humor, cooking, and technical research. He was preceded in death by his wives Audrey Dorothy (Baker) Keucher and Geneva Duggar (Collins) Keucher, and by his significant other, Nancy Ilene Wiviott.

Services will be held privately, in accordance with his wishes.

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