ith love, gratitude, and sorrow, we announce the passing of Judith Ann Chai, on March 21, 2026. She took her final breaths at home, at peace, with faith, surrounded and supported by her children and her husband, David Keller.
Throughout her life and even into her final months, as incurable leukemia finally slowed her down, Judy lived with a song in her heart. Perhaps the simplest way to sum her character is to say that those who knew her best loved her most.
The fourth of seven children, Judy was born in Provo, Utah, in 1952, to Lars Odell and Margaret June Christensen. From her first years to her final week, she was rarely content to rest and strove to live deeply every day. Her two greatest loves, in order, were spending time with her family and adventuring in the outdoors.
She married Henry Keonaona Chai II (Keo) in 1975, and between 1977 and 1991, they had six children. During those early family years, Judy created a beautiful, loving home, with rich traditions and celebrations for every season. She and Keo resided for most of those years in West Jordan, Utah, before leaving to serve a mission for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Manila, Philippines, and Oklahoma City.
In 2004, Keo passed away from stomach cancer. It was a difficult time, but Judy was equal to the challenge: she ran a household, served her church, and even returned to university studies.
A few years later, Judy met David Keller, and they married in 2007. Judy and David built a home in Riverton, Utah, where family and friends gathered often in laughter and celebration. Over nearly 19 years, they shared both their faith and their love for travel and the outdoors, serving three religious missions; visiting 20 countries; hiking and biking trails across the world; yet somehow always being available when family needed them most. She and David have 30 grandchildren between them, from ages 25 years to 6 months.
Judy is survived by her children and their partners: Nathan (Mary), Kristin (Jeff), Erin, Stephen (Jennelle), Kimo (Estefani), and Jordan (Alley), as well as by her step children, Kristin, Marnie (Stephan), Rebecca (Jonathan), Scott (Ashley), Juliann (Ryan), Kathryn (Adam), Amanda (Saul), and Jake (Caroline). She is also survived by her grandchildren, five of her siblings, and her husband, David. She was preceded in death by her parents, a brother, and her first husband, Keo.
Her family will remember her in the sunrises, in the songs she always carried with her, in the holiday traditions that brought us all so much joy, and in the words she said to each of us, often, especially in her final days: