Lorilee (Garland) Kettler

Lorilee (Garland) Kettler was born on December 14, 1950 in Vandalia, Illinois. She was the 4th of 5 children born to Lola and Lonnie Garland. Her older brothers, Jack and Bob have predeceased Lori, while her older sister, Mary and her younger brother Bill continue to live in Illinois.

After Lori graduated from Vandalia High School in 1969, she got married and had 3 children of her own. In 1976, she moved to Colorado with her husband and children, Greg, Shelley and Misty. After a couple of very rough years, Lori divorced her husband and went to work at the Colorado Department of Revenue to provide for herself and her children. She loved to tell everyone that God sent her to the Department of Revenue so she could meet and eventually marry Max Kettler. Max and Lori were married on June 20, 1987 in Northglenn, Colorado. Lori continued to work for the Department of Revenue until she retired in July 2006 after 21 years of service.

Together Max and Lori raised her 3 children and shared numerous proud and enjoyable moments in their lives. Lori was extremely proud of her children.

Over the years, the family vacationed in Florida several times and really enjoyed the state. In 2017, Max and Lori decided to leave many friends and family and the cold of Colorado behind and moved to Port St. Lucie, Florida. She really grieved over leaving those folks behind, but she truly loved her new home and the many new friends she made in Florida.

Lori’s favorite time of the year was Christmas. She went entirely overboard to be sure each of her children and her 7 grandchildren knew how much she loved them. It often took several hours to open all the gifts she got them.

Lori’s favorite pastime, after moving to Florida, was bowling. Lori loved to bowl and socialize with the people she met bowling. Though she never really got very good at the game, and frequently threatened to quit, she truly loved bowling with Max and the friends they made together. Lori continued to bowl right up to the time she could do it no more.

Lori is survived by her loving husband, Max Kettler, her sister, Mary Bond, and her brother, Bill Garland and his wife Trudy, her daughter, Shelley Alley and children, Meghan and Collin, daughter, Misty Blair and children, Zachary Blair and Faith Yetter; son, Gregory R. Mills (deceased) and his wife, Courtney Mills and grandchildren, Chloe, Braxton, and Annebelle.

Lori and Max are faithful followers of our Lord. They are past members of The Crossing Church of Westminster, The Crossings Church in Port St. Lucie, and were current members of the Discovery Church in Fort Pierce. Her faith in the Lord is beyond question. She will continue serving her Lord now as she did while she was here among us.

A Celebration of Life will be held on Friday, January 9, 2026 at 2:00 pm at The Discovery Church, 4441 S. 25th Street, Fort Pierce, FL 34981.