Grant Keller - A Father’s Love For His Gay Son

Redefining Family

In this episode, Jonathan speaks to his journey coming out to his father after getting his car stolen from a boy he met outside of a club. We then meet Grant Keller, a Vietnam vet with a traumatic childhood, who shares about his journey to acceptance for his late gay son, who died in a car accident.

About Grant Keller

Grant was born in downtown Los Angeles in 1948 and grew up in Mar Vista and Venice.
"My childhood was filled with the trauma of physical abuse and neglect. My dad was an alcoholic and my mother was psychotic.”
"My mom kicked dad out when I was eight and I was put in Catholic school soon afterwards. They taught me many strange things, including homophobia.”
"My mom was a single mother with three children returning to work in the mid 1950’s. She was overwhelmed and didn’t have much time for us. I was the oldest so I helped raise my brother and sister. I tried to become an adult at eight. My sister called me the good daddy.”
"I joined the Navy in 1967, right after Venice High School, and was trained in Aviation Electronics. I married my high school sweetheart and went to Vietnam. When I joined my squadron they took one look at my size and assigned me to loading 500 pound bombs on the flight deck of an aircraft carrier.”
"I experienced several traumatic events, including a flight deck fire, and losing a buddy to jet exhaust. A few days before the birth of my children, I was exposed to Agent Orange in Da Nang, South Vietnam, in a night mortar attack, and narrowly missed being blown up in an aircraft explosion. I did finally make my way back to Los Angeles.”
"My first sight of my twins, Anna-Lisa and Aaron, transformed me. I devoted my life to raising them properly, so they would always know they were loved. I didn’t know how, but would figure it out.”
"I returned to ditch digging full time and went to night school to study engineering. Ten years later I graduated with honors from Loyola Marymount University with a bachelor’s degree in engineering. Later I graduated from USC with an engineering master's degree. I worked as an aerospace engineer for 40 years and became an engineer/scientist specializing in research and development.”
"I raised my twins with love and respect, and they were beautiful and smart children. They asked to move back to the Westside so they could graduate from Venice High like their parents. When they graduated from high school, Aaron came out. I was completely clueless but I loved both of my children, so I set myself to figuring it all out."