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hile we celebrate the 40th anniversary of Pride in South Florida, the board and many volunteers of Pride Fort Lauderdale remember Vivien “Miss Vicky” Keller, who passed away last year. In a column for South Florida Gay News, Jesse Monteagudo, a former board member, wrote these eloquent words about Miss Vicky, who volunteered as a board member of Pride Vivien “Miss South Florida/Fort Lauderdale for nearly its entire 40-year history: “It was in the early ‘80s that Vicky began her decades-long involvement on the Board of Pride South Florida. I was a member of the Pride Board back then; and Vicky and I had some great times together, planning and working the early Pride Festivals at the long-gone Hollywood Sportatorium. This was the golden age of Pride South Florida, when a small group of dedicated activists, some of whom are no longer with us, created a form of community celebration at a time when many of us were succumbing to AIDS. For much of that time, Vicky was the only woman on the Board of Pride South Florida; and she worked as hard as any of the men on the Board. Later, when the rest of us moved on to other endeavors, Vicky remained on the Board of Pride South Florida; and she would have continued on the Board until this day had her health permitted it. Vicky served on the Board of Pride South Florida for almost 40 years; a record that will not be broken in a long time. Though Vicky was a heterosexual woman, she did more for South Florida’s LGBT community than all but a handful of LGBT community members. When the AIDS epidemic began in the early 1980s, Vicky met with other activists at the old Marlin Beach Hotel and founded AIDS Center One; the first group of its kind in Broward County. When gay men’s choral groups flourished in our community, Vicky saw a need and founded WomynSong, South Florida’s first and still only lesbian
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chorus. If AIDS Center One was later mired in controversy, and if WomynSong did not endure, it was not Vicky’s fault, for she put all her effort to maintain those organizations. For many years, Vicky served the Church of Our Savior MCC in Boynton Beach as Minister of Music, pianist and choir member. She was also an active member of Congregation Etz Chaim, serving on the Vicky” Keller Board and reading prayers at services in her own inimitable style. Vicky was also involved in the local chapter of SAGE, Senior Action in a Gay Environment, where I had the honor of escorting her to SAGE events. In an often divisive community, Vicky was above controversy, loving everyone and working for the good of all. Not as well-known as her work with LGBT community organizations are her countless acts of kindness for members of the LGBT community, her community. She adopted a gay son, Michael Keller, whom she adored and who she took care of during his struggle with AIDS. Vicky also assisted other LGBT youth who were rejected by their families, often to her own financial detriment. When my partner, Michael Greenspan, developed dementia, Vicky visited him at his assisted living facility, sang and played the piano for him, and even gave him a CD player so he could play music in his room. Though Vicky suffered from financial and health problems during her final years, she kept up her spirits and her dedication to her community...I am going to miss Vicky; her kindness, her sincerity, and her ability to bring out the best in all of us. Like George Bailey in the movie “It’s a Wonderful Life,” the world would have been much worse off if Vicky had never lived in it. We are grateful that she did, for nine decades of untiring work and great love. Thanks to Vicky, our community is a much better place and we are much better people for having known her.”
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