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Shortly before his 110th birthday. (Source: Facebook / St. Catherine of Siena Parish)

Supercentenarian Profile

Jay Keller

Born:

1916-06-03

Albany, New York

United States

Current Residence:

Shelburne, Vermont

United States

Jay Edgar Keller is an American supercentenarian who is currently the oldest known living person in the state of Vermont.

BIOGRAPHY

Jay Keller was born in Albany, New York, USA, on 3 June 1916 (claims 1 June). His father, Frank, worked in construction. With three children to support—Jay, the middle child, between his older sister May, who was five years his senior, and his younger sister Frances, who was two years younger—the Keller family moved frequently in search of work. For a period, they settled in Kansas City, Missouri. Eventually, Jay’s mother was hospitalized with what was diagnosed as postpartum depression or postpartum psychosis. To ensure she received long-term care, Frank sold both of his houses to cover the costs of her treatment.

As a child, Jay suffered from severe asthma and missed so much school that he was required to repeat the first grade. Because a change in environment was thought to be beneficial for his health, he moved to Burlington and took up residence in Donnelly’s boarding house. After settling there, he attended school, worked in the large garden, and earned extra money by helping care for an elderly neighbor, who paid him half-dollar coins for his assistance.

Jay graduated from Burlington’s Cathedral High School in 1934. He was one of only five students in his graduating class accepted into the University of Vermont College of Medicine’s two-year pre-medical program. Jay earned his M.D. degree on 10 June 1940, and married his high school sweetheart, Pauline (“Polly”) Cecelia Murphy (1916–1992), just five days later. Two weeks after their wedding, he left to begin his internship at St. Michael’s Hospital in Newark, New Jersey, marking the start of his medical career.

Having participated in the ROTC program at the University of Vermont, Jay was prepared for military service and was called to active duty immediately after completing his internship. During basic training and military maneuvers in the southern United States, he and Polly welcomed their first son, David. However, a recurrence of his severe asthma, aggravated during training, led to an honorable discharge and the family’s return to Vermont. Learning that an Essex Junction physician was missing in action in Europe, he purchased the doctor’s office with the help of a loan from his father and financing from Burlington Savings Bank. He hired newly graduated nurse Frances Reynolds, R.N., and together they established a busy practice, making house calls throughout the region. In the first three years alone, Jay estimated that he helped deliver approximately 150 babies.

In addition to their first son, David, Jay and Polly went on to have seven more children—four daughters and three sons. As his medical career progressed, he chose to specialize in surgery, requiring him to complete a surgical residency in New York City. During those demanding years, he returned to Burlington every other weekend to spend time with Polly and their growing family. After a long and distinguished career in medicine, Dr. Keller retired in 1983.

Years after being widowed, Jay met Marie Catherine Fiorino-DiCiaccio (1920–2024) while she was volunteering as an interpreter of historical artifacts at the Shelburne Museum in Burlington, and they later married. Together they shared 24 years of marriage until Marie’s passing on 28 January 2024, just three days after her 104th birthday.