William David Keene

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Keene, William David (July 16, 1928 - July 7, 2019) We are saddened to announce the passing of William (Bill) David Keene: Beloved Husband, Father, Grand and Great Grandfather. Bill was born in Minneapolis in July 1928 to his parents, Hazel Good and Donald Keene. He attended school in Columbia Heights, MN where he graduated from high school and worked as an orderly at the county hospital during the polio epidemic. He served in the army reserves during the Korean conflict, and was proud of being part of a group of communication experts employed by Western Electric who used their skills to best the army rangers in war games, and was only days away from deployment when a moratorium was declared. Bill worked for Western Electric his entire adult life, and retired in the 1980's during the AT&T divestiture. He married twice, first at age 19 to Joan Frank, and is survived by two sons from his first marriage, Mike and Pat Keene. He was married for 54 years to his second wife Duveen Fredericks Keene who preceded him in death in 2007. Bill had four daughters with Duveen: Karen, Sharon, Linda and M. Lisa Keene. He was preceded in death by his grandson, Ronald James Smith Jr, and leaves behind granddaughters Willow & Mahrye Smith, as well as great grandchildren: Tia, Riley, Ian and Jordan. He also leaves behind pets Tosh (Natasha), Cocoa, and Simon. We will all miss his humor, wisdom and love, as well as his stubborn tenacity to beat the odds. Family visitation and service will be at Dare's funeral home, 805 Main St. NW in Elk River, MN on July 15th at 11:00 am. TBA a celebration of William Keene's life will be held later in the year. In lieu of flowers, please donate to the charitable organization Greatergood.org online at greatergood.org/donate/ in honor of Bill's love of animals worldwide. Dare's Funeral Home 763-441-1212 daresfuneralservice.com

Published on July 13, 2019