Keith Lane Cordell, 53, of Marble Hill, Missouri, died Saturday, November 29, 2025 near Slater.

Funeral services will be Saturday, December 6, 2025 at 1:00 P.M. at First Baptist Church in Slater. Burial with military honors will be in Gilliam Cemetery. Pallbearers will be Christian Cordell, Jack Crumbaugh, Daniel Crumbaugh, Will Jacobson, Tony Johnson, and Nathan Crumbaugh. Visitation will be from Noon until 1:00 Saturday at the church. Memorials are suggested to Horses for Heroes in care of Weiker Funeral Home in Slater.

Born October 22, 1972 in Casper, Wyoming, he was the son of Leonard Keith Cordell and Cindra Feyhl Cordell Elliott of Bosworth. On July 29, 1993 near Fort Leonard Wood, Missouri, he married Dana Crumbaugh, and she survives of the home.

Also surviving is a daughter, Erin Laine Cordell of Eagle River, Alaska; a step-son, Tony Johnson of Gilliam; two brothers, Christian Cordell of Slater and John Cordell of Ukiah, California; a sister, Melinda “Lindi” Cordell of Rathdrum, Idaho; three half siblings, Keira Smith (Cordell), Jayde Shy (Cordell), and Krystal Cordell of Montana; two step siblings, Garritt Jacobson of Wyoming and Rebecca Jacobson of Montana; three grandchildren, Beau Johnson, Adalee Johnson, and Hallie Johnson. He was preceded in death by a daughter, Mikayla Dawne Cordell; and a brother, Levi Aaron Cordell.

Keith served in the U.S. Army in the 82nd Airborne Division as a medic from 1993 until 1999 at Fort Bragg, North Carolina, with a year served in South Korea. After the military he attended and graduated from Missouri Valley College in Marshall in 2003, where he majored in Wildlife Biology with a minor in Chemistry. He started working for the Missouri Department of Conservation in 2002, and transferred to the Southeast Region following his graduation in 2003. He was an inspiration to the department serving as a Wildlife Biologist in several areas across the Southeast Region, before settling into his favorite role as the region’s Ecological Health Specialist. Over his twenty-three plus years with Missouri Department of Conservation, he epitomized the culture of the department, always volunteering to help others, never backing down from a challenge, and always willing to serve the public. He mentored a great number of hourlies and other staff over the years, and always saw the good in others.