Professor Remembered For Devotion to Ancient Egypt

Cathleen Keller, a UC Berkeley associate professor of Egyptology known for her generosity and wry sense of humor, died of pancreatic cancer on April 18. She was 62.

Keller, who went by the name Candy, studied and taught Egyptian art and history at UC Berkeley for more than 20 years. Colleagues remember her for her devotion to her research and her unconventional course material.

"The breadth and depth of her knowledge was just inspiring," said Carol Redmount, chair of the Near Eastern Studies Department and Keller's close friend. "She was very generous, very big-hearted, warm-hearted. If you needed anything, she was always there to help."

Born and raised in California, Keller, who was versed in ancient Egyptian languages, taught a freshman seminar on reading hieroglyphics for the purpose of reconstructing Egyptian history and culture. Students who took the course described her as "magnificent" and "knowledgeable" in their evaluations.

She was a faculty curator at the Phoebe Hearst Museum of Anthropology as well as the curator of Egyptian art and epigraphy.

Keller had also served as the Wellcombe Lecturer in Egyptian Civilization in the Department of Fine Arts at Harvard University.

Joan Knudsen, Keller's friend and the registrar at the museum, said Keller often would bring students to the museum in order to photograph Egyptian materials. Knudsen said the students were always fascinated by Keller's knowledge of and passion for the material.

Keller, who received her bachelor's, master's and doctorate degrees from UC Berkeley, was very involved with the Klaus Baer Library of Egyptology on campus. She made monetary endowments to the library throughout her lifetime and arranged for the donation of her professional books and research materials to the library upon her death.

According to Redmount, one of Keller's major areas of interest was the craftspeople of the ancient Egyptian village Deir el-Medinah. In her work, she tried to learn the styles characteristic of specific artists from the village and to identify their work on kings' tombs.

Keller also co-edited a book called "Hatshepsut: From Queen to Pharaoh," which discusses the controversial leader. She also helped set up an exhibit of the same name.

Keller's sister Susan Keller recalled Keller's humor and passion for Egypt.

"She was such a talented woman, and she just loved what she did. She just loved Egypt," Susan Keller said.

Susan Keller described her sister as humorous and clever and said that she was her best friend.

"What a gal. I mean, I admired her so much. She was very, very humorous," she said. "She loved to be around people and see them happy."

Redmount said Keller had a mischievous sense of humor that never failed to make others laugh. Keller always had a twinkle in her eye, she said.

Keller's colleagues and friends said her passing is a great loss to the department and added that she will be truly missed.

"To everyone who knew her, she made an impression on everyone. She's going to be missed around here for a very long time," Knudsen said.

Tags: CATHLEEN KELLER, EGYPTOLOGY