Owner of Frankenmuth Bavarian Inn Lodge, Judy Zehnder Keller, dies at 77

Frankenmuth community loses another business icon

Judy Zehnder Keller (Bavarian Inn Lodge)

FRANKENMUTH, Mich. – Judy Zehnder Keller, president and owner of the famous Frankenmuth Bavarian Inn Lodge, passed away on Wednesday.

The hotel announced on Facebook and its website that Keller was at home with her close family when she passed at the age of 77.

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A graduate of Frankenmuth High School in 1963, Keller became a Michigan State Spartan. She earned her BA in hotel and restaurant management and a master’s degree in educational psychology.

Keller started working at the Bavarian Inn Restaurant in 1960 and from there, led the company through six expansions and built the Bavarian Inn Lodge in 1986.

The hotel entrepreneur was also the owner of Frankenmuth Cheese Haus.

Below is a post by the hotel on Facebook:

A private funeral will be held for Keller at Cederberg Funeral Home in Frankenmuth.


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