Mary Kenneth Keller was born on December 17, 1913, in Cleveland, Ohio, to John Adam Keller and Catherine Josephine Keller. Keller earned her B.S. in Mathematics in 1943 and her M.S. in Mathematics and Physics in 1953 from DePaul University. She later completed her Ph.D. at the University of Wisconsin–Madison in 1965, with her dissertation focusing on algorithms for analytic differentiation in CDC FORTRAN 63. During her graduate studies, Keller was associated with institutions like the University of Michigan, Purdue, and Dartmouth. Although sources often claim she worked at Dartmouth's computer science center in 1958, the college did not acquire its first computer until 1959. She was, however, involved at Dartmouth around 1961 when Dartmouth ALGOL 30 was being developed. Keller was a strong advocate for using computers to enhance education and increase access to information. After receiving her Ph.D. in 1965, she founded and directed the computer science department at Clarke University in Dubuque, Iowa, where she worked for 20 years. Clarke University honors her legacy with the Keller Computer Center and Information Services and the Mary Kenneth Keller Computer Science Scholarship. Keller was a pioneer for women in computing and played a key role in establishing the Association of Small Computer Users in Education (ASCUE). ASCUE is a non-profit organization dedicated to promoting the use of technology in higher education and it is currently still active today. Furthermore, Keller engaged in literature as she authored four books where she emphasized the interdisciplinary potential of computers. Mary Kenneth Keller passed away on January 10, 1985, at the age of 71.

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