Jack C. Keeley

Jack C. Keeley, VII passed away February 1, 2008 in his home surrounded by his family. He was 88 years old and the longest tenured member of Settle Memorial United Methodist Church. He was born in 1919 in a house on Parrish Avenue in Owensboro, Kentucky, to the late Jack C. and Mayme Robertson Keeley. He graduated in 1938 from Owensboro High School where he played football and was named to the All Conference and All State teams. A graduate of Centre College which he attended on a full scholarship, he played football, basketball, and was on the track team. At the outbreak of World War II, he enlisted in the Army Air Corps while still a medical student at the University of Louisville. He graduated with honors in 1945 and was a member of Alpha Omega Alpha honorary medical society. In 1948 he returned to Owensboro where he practiced medicine until his retirement in 2002. He began his career as a General Practitioner, and was board certified as a charter diplomate of the American Academy of Family Physicians. His busy private practice included house calls and the delivery of babies, many in the home. From 1986 until 1992 he served as ship's doctor for the Holland America Cruise Line. An inquisitive and imaginative thinker, he became a member of the Investigators Club in 1948, serving as president from 1974 to 2004. He was a voracious reader of the classics, with a particular appetite for Shakespeare and Kipling. Special among the historical figures he studied throughout his life were Lewis and Clark ,Custer, and Shackleton. An outdoorsman and an accomplished fly fisherman, Dr. Keeley had a lifelong fascination with wooden boats. He also hand crafted by traditional methods two beautiful wooden boats which he gave to his grandsons.

Dr. Keeley is survived by his wife of 61 years, Florence Baker Keeley; their five children; John B. Keeley, VIII of Nashville, Samuel B. Keeley of Pittsburgh, Jane Keeley Fisher of Owensboro, Phillip M. Keeley of Lexington, and Benjamin D. Keeley of Owensboro; and their twelve grandchildren, Sam Keeley, Jr., Kate Keeley, Jack Keeley, Jess Keeley, Patrick Keeley, Ray Fisher, Mayme Fisher, Josie Keeley, Sarah Keeley, Jeff Keeley, Rachel Keeley, and Nell Keeley. In addition to his parents, he was also preceded in death by his sister, Betty Keeley Cunningham.

Services are at 2:00 p.m. Monday at Settle Memorial United Methodist Church. Visitation will be from 2:00 until 6:00 p.m. Sunday and from 11:00 a.m. until 1:30 p.m. Monday at Glenn Funeral Home. Burial will be in Elmwood Cemetery.

Memories of Dr. Keeley may be shared at www.glennfuneralhome.com.