Manchester mourns Trustee Phil Keiser

Email sent to the Manchester University on Monday, Oct. 17, 2016, by President Dave McFadden:

Dear friends,

I am deeply saddened to report the unexpected death Saturday of Phil Keiser, a member of the Board of Trustees since 2008. Phil would have turned 61 today. 

Phil was a native of Nappanee, Ind., and graduated from Manchester in 1978 with a degree in business administration. He joined the Culver’s restaurant organization in 1996 as director of operations and, on June 15, 2015, became the president and chief executive officer of the Culver Franchising System Inc. He lived in Sauk City, Wis., near the Culver’s corporate headquarters.

His colleagues from the board are remembering Phil as a kind, generous and thoughtful man who was devoted to his family. He conducted his life and work with integrity and humility. The board has been stronger because of Phil’s business acumen, a quality that propelled him to the top of the thriving restaurant chain. When Phil became CEO of Culver’s, its co-founder Craig Culver said the decision was easy for him because “the reins are being turned over to someone who has been responsible for so much of our success for so many years.”

You may recall that Phil was featured in Manchester magazine last spring. The son, grandson and nephew of Manchester graduates, Phil said he never wanted to go to college anywhere else. He appreciated the way Manchester expanded the world for him and he embraced the University’s bedrock values of integrity, community and service.  

Please keep Phil’s wife, Betsy, their three grown children, Nate, Nick and Kelsey, and several grandchildren in your thoughts and prayers as we mourn the loss of our friend.

Sincerely,
Dave McFadden