Derrick Keller Field Dedication Ceremony Set for Wednesday Afternoon

Family, friends and community members are set to come together Wednesday afternoon to celebrate and honor former SLP baseball standout Derrick Keller.

Derrick Keller Field at Dakota Park will be dedicated during a ceremony from 3:45-4 p.m. Wednesday, May 22, at the field. The ceremony will honor Keller, an 18-year-old Park resident who died last summer after a 10-month battle with Leukemia.

In a post on the Keller Family's CaringBridge site this week, his parents said it will be "very hard" to be present for Wednesday's dedication. They said whenever something like this happens, it feels like Derrick's funeral all over again.

"This field naming is such an honor for the whole family," the entry reads. "It will be nice to see all of you again but I have to ask for one favor. Please don't tell us that this has to make things better. The pain is as bad as it ever has been, and it is a lot worse this time of year."

Slightly more than a year ago—on June 26, to be exact—Keller passed away. He had been battling Leukemia for months, after being . He subsequently underwent a bone marrow transplant and battled cytomegalovirus, but they were not enough to stop the cancer.

Join St. Louis Park Patch for more community news or find us on Facebook and Twitter.