Kenneth G. Keck's Obituary
Born November 17, 1932. Died November 27, 2015. He was 83 years and 10 days old. Kenneth was born in Wirt, Oklahoma & died in Tulsa. Kenneth was born to Tom Tinker & Aleyce Oleda Keck. He had one older brother, Haskeli LeRoy Keck. Kenneth was proceeded in death by his parents, his brother & his first wife, Jean Keck.He was survived by his daughter, Sheri Pylant & her husband Greg; his son, Steven Keck; and his granddaughter, Kayla Johnson. Kenneth grew up riding horses, working cattle & helping his daddy work in the oil fields. Kenneth went to Dundee High School and graduated in 1950. He was on the track team and was part of the Boys’ Quartet. Kenneth’s favorite sport was football. He was the Co-Captain of the football team. Kenneth went to Murray State College on a football scholarship. It lasted until he broke his leg. He couldn’t reach anyone at home to come & get him, so he hitch-hiked home on crutches. Kenneth was called to draft for the Korean War, shortly after. He showed up for his physical still on crutches. Kenneth said the doctor laughed & said that he wouldn’t be of much use in his condition. In 1952, Kenneth married Jean Box. They moved to Tulsa shortly after their marriage. Kenneth & his buddy, Joe Hawkins, opened K & H Sinclair Service, located at Pine & Boston. In 1954, Kenneth went to work for McDonnell Douglas Aircraft. In 1962, he changed jobs & worked for North American Rockwell. During this time, the space industry was booming. Kenneth worked as an inspector & in quality control on several projects, including the Apollo Space Program. He became laid off at one point & sold cars for several years to help make ends meet. He eventually went back to Douglas, where he retired in 1994. (Since that time, McDonnell Douglas has become Spirit Aero Systems. Kenneth’s son, Steven, now works in the same building as Kenneth did.) In the days before children, Kenneth & Jean loved to water ski. They always had a boat & spent most weekends at the lake. They built a cabin on Tenkiller Lake. After having young children, it was a little more difficult to enjoy the water sports. Eventually, they gave up skiing & bought a fishing boat. There were several weekends spent camping & fishing with the kids. And a lot of fish stories to go with it. Kenneth & Jean loved to travel. They always took a family vacation each year with their children. Sometimes, those trips were by car; there was a couple of years that the vacation was by a Volkswagen Campmobile. After retirement, Kenneth & Jean bought a motor home. They went on several vacations with his LeRoy & Betty Keck. One of Kenneth’s favorite places to visit was Pike’s Peak. He had lost track of how many times he had been there. During one of the family vacations, Kenneth & Jean took the family to Padre Island. Keep in mind, this trip took place shortly after the movie Jaws came out. Both parents wondered why the kids didn’t want to get in the water. At one time, Kenneth took up making silver jewelry as a hobby. He had started with pre-made blanks & filled them in with turquoise. Later, he began making all of the silver components & became very good at it. He had great hopes of selling his jewelry. The only problem was his wife & daughter liked each piece so well, he wasn’t allowed to sell it. Starting in 1985, Jean began her battle with cancer. While undergoing treatments, the vacations were put on hold. During times of remission, the vacations were back on track, until Jean lost her battle in 1998. New Year’s Day 1990, was one of Kenneth’s proudest moments. He became a grandfather to Kayla. It was a little touch & go for the first days. Kayla was in the neonatal unit for 23 days. But, she over came the odds & is 25 years old. (There were several trips to Branson, that Kayla went with Kenneth & Jean.) After Jean’s death in 1998, Kenneth remarried to Beverly Forrest. And remained married, but spent his last weeks with his children in their care. Kenneth was a lover of all things western, from boots & cowboy hats, to country music. He has owned more pairs of cowboy boots than anyone can imagine. His favorite piece Of art has always been the End of the Trails. He has owned several statues & paintings of this particular piece of art. Kenneth’s favorite football team is the Dallas Cowboys. It didn’t matter what was going on, he always had to watch them play. If you had come to visit when the Cowboy’s were playing, you had better like football, because you were going to watch it. Kenneth’s faith in the Lord has never wavered. Even during his illness, his faith remained strong. His last days were lived in peace with his children & his granddaughter by his side. He had several visits from the Seasons Hospice Chaplin, Susan Parsons. He always enjoyed praying with her. There were a couple of visits by Terry Lane that included prayer. Kenneth knew there weren’t enough prayers to go around. Funeral Service Thursday, December 3rd, 2015-12:30 PM-Floral Haven Funeral Home Chapel.
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