F. Ray Keyser, Sr.

Frank Ray Keyser Sr. (September 29, 1898 – March 7, 2001) was an American politician, lawyer, and judge from Vermont. He was a lawyer in private practice and later a justice of the Vermont Supreme Court. His son F. Ray Keyser Jr. served as Speaker of the Vermont House of Representatives and later as governor of Vermont.

Early life Keyser was born on September 29, 1898, in Woodsville, New Hampshire, the son of Winifred S. and Harriett (Bailey) Keyser. He graduated from high school in Woodsville in 1917 and studied at Tufts University while enrolled in the Student Army Training Corps during World War I.

Start of career After being discharged, Keyser attended Norwich University from 1919 to 1920, and became a banker in Wells River, Chelsea and Lyndonville, Vermont, and then a schoolteacher in Chelsea.

Death and burial Keyser died on March 7, 2001, in Rutland, at the age of 102. He was buried at Highland Cemetery in Chelsea.

Family Keyser married Ellen Larkin of Chelsea on July 2, 1921; she died in 1976 after 55 years of marriage. Keyser married Ruby Hackett of Tunbridge on January 8, 1977. She died in June 1999, after 21 years of marriage. His children included son F. Ray Keyser Jr., daughter Natalie Keyser Niles, and step-daughter, Elaine R. Cilley.

Keyser was a lifelong fan of the Boston Red Sox.