Individual Details
Richard Ernest "DIck" Keeney
(October 13, 1920 - February 7, 2007)
FAG 142869582
"I lived and worked in Coleman County until I was seventeen years old. I joined the C. C. C.'s May 7, 1937 and went to Roswell, New Mexico. On October 13, 1939, I joined the United States Army at Fort Bliss, Texas. I was discharged October 13, 1945, as Staff Sergeant. After being discharge from the Army, I worked as a mechanic and machinist. On July 30, 1964, we moved to Othello where I took on the job of building the biggest spearmint and peppermint farm in the world. I divorced my first wife and remarried. In November 1977, we started an automotive machine shop in Warden, Washington. We built our home in Warden in November 1978." (From the article, "The Isaac Keeney Family" by Richard Ernest Keeney in COLEMAN COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE, 1985, page 792)
Richard E. Keeney, 86, longtime Warden resident, passed away at his home on February 7, 2007 following a long battle with cancer.
Dick was born on October 13, 1920 in Coleman County, Texas to Thomas Ernest and Georgia Lobstein Keeney. He grew up on land purchased by his grandfather, Isaac Keeney. He was baptized in Jim Ned Creek in 1934.
In 1939, Dick joined the U.S. Army. His duty assignment sent him to Seattle where he met Mary N. Neergaard; they married on June 6, 1943. In 1945, he was discharged as a staff sergeant.
While in Seattle, two children were born to Dick and Mary. In 1950, the family moved to Grandview where two more children were born and where Dick farmed until 1962. In 1964, the family moved to Othello where Dick served as general manager for Labbee Mint Farm’s Columbia Basin farming operation.
On November 10, 1973, Dick married LaDawn Woolley Maw and moved to Warden where the couple started a machine shop business. Dick was elected mayor of Warden in 1992 and served in that capacity through 2003.
Dick was a member and chair of the North Columbia Community Action Council, chair of the Big Bend Economic Development Council, and chair and founder of Grant Transit Authority. In 1995, the Washington State Dept. of Transportation honored Dick “for outstanding service in promoting public transportation in Washington State”, and in 1999 his name was added to the Wall of Fame by the Washington State Public Transportation and Rail Conference. Dick served as president and 8-year member of the Big Bend Resource Conservation and Development Council and was a 10-year member of the board of directors for Cities Insurance Association of Washington. He was most recently Ombudsman of the area’s Aging & Adult Care Agency. In 2004, American Legion Post 209 cited Dick for over 50 years of continuous Legion membership. He was also a member of the Warden Kiwanis Club.
Dick was an avid fisherman of lakes, rivers and reservoirs around the Northwest with his friend, Bill Bisnet. One of his dreams was accomplished when he landed a salmon on Oregon's Deschutes River.
Dick was preceded in death by his former wife Mary in 1993. His is survived by wife LaDawn of Warden; son John Richard of Grass Valley, Oregon; daughters Georgia Bruce of Kennewick, Cris Nielson of Eagle Mountain, Utah and Kate Banaszak of Rapid City, South Dakota; son Richard John Sherbon of Puyallup; step-children LuAnn Presnell of Othello, Steve Maw of Ronan, Montana, Stacy Maw of Candian, Oklahoma, and Duane Maw of St. George, Utah; and numerous grandchildren and great grandchildren.
Services were held on February 13, 2007 at the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Warden. Arrangements in care of Stevens Funeral Chapel of Othello.
"I lived and worked in Coleman County until I was seventeen years old. I joined the C. C. C.'s May 7, 1937 and went to Roswell, New Mexico. On October 13, 1939, I joined the United States Army at Fort Bliss, Texas. I was discharged October 13, 1945, as Staff Sergeant. After being discharge from the Army, I worked as a mechanic and machinist. On July 30, 1964, we moved to Othello where I took on the job of building the biggest spearmint and peppermint farm in the world. I divorced my first wife and remarried. In November 1977, we started an automotive machine shop in Warden, Washington. We built our home in Warden in November 1978." (From the article, "The Isaac Keeney Family" by Richard Ernest Keeney in COLEMAN COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE, 1985, page 792)
Richard E. Keeney, 86, longtime Warden resident, passed away at his home on February 7, 2007 following a long battle with cancer.
Dick was born on October 13, 1920 in Coleman County, Texas to Thomas Ernest and Georgia Lobstein Keeney. He grew up on land purchased by his grandfather, Isaac Keeney. He was baptized in Jim Ned Creek in 1934.
In 1939, Dick joined the U.S. Army. His duty assignment sent him to Seattle where he met Mary N. Neergaard; they married on June 6, 1943. In 1945, he was discharged as a staff sergeant.
While in Seattle, two children were born to Dick and Mary. In 1950, the family moved to Grandview where two more children were born and where Dick farmed until 1962. In 1964, the family moved to Othello where Dick served as general manager for Labbee Mint Farm’s Columbia Basin farming operation.
On November 10, 1973, Dick married LaDawn Woolley Maw and moved to Warden where the couple started a machine shop business. Dick was elected mayor of Warden in 1992 and served in that capacity through 2003.
Dick was a member and chair of the North Columbia Community Action Council, chair of the Big Bend Economic Development Council, and chair and founder of Grant Transit Authority. In 1995, the Washington State Dept. of Transportation honored Dick “for outstanding service in promoting public transportation in Washington State”, and in 1999 his name was added to the Wall of Fame by the Washington State Public Transportation and Rail Conference. Dick served as president and 8-year member of the Big Bend Resource Conservation and Development Council and was a 10-year member of the board of directors for Cities Insurance Association of Washington. He was most recently Ombudsman of the area’s Aging & Adult Care Agency. In 2004, American Legion Post 209 cited Dick for over 50 years of continuous Legion membership. He was also a member of the Warden Kiwanis Club.
Dick was an avid fisherman of lakes, rivers and reservoirs around the Northwest with his friend, Bill Bisnet. One of his dreams was accomplished when he landed a salmon on Oregon's Deschutes River.
Dick was preceded in death by his former wife Mary in 1993. His is survived by wife LaDawn of Warden; son John Richard of Grass Valley, Oregon; daughters Georgia Bruce of Kennewick, Cris Nielson of Eagle Mountain, Utah and Kate Banaszak of Rapid City, South Dakota; son Richard John Sherbon of Puyallup; step-children LuAnn Presnell of Othello, Steve Maw of Ronan, Montana, Stacy Maw of Candian, Oklahoma, and Duane Maw of St. George, Utah; and numerous grandchildren and great grandchildren.
Services were held on February 13, 2007 at the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Warden. Arrangements in care of Stevens Funeral Chapel of Othello.
Events
| Birth | October 13, 1920 | Coleman County, Texas | |||
| Marriage | June 6, 1943 | Seattle, King County, Washington - Mary N. Neergaard | |||
| Marriage | November 10, 1973 | Winnemucca, Humboldt County, Nevada - Ladawn Wooley | |||
| Death | February 7, 2007 | Warden, Grant County, Washington | |||
| Burial | Sunset Memorial Gardens, Warden, Grant County, Washington |
Families
| Spouse | Mary N. Neergaard (1920 - 1993) |
| Child | John Richard Keeney (1945 - ) |
| Child | Georgia Ann Keeney (1949 - ) |
| Child | Mary Christine "Cris" Keeney (1956 - ) |
| Child | Katherine Elizabeth Keeney (1959 - ) |
| Spouse | Ladawn Wooley (1938 - 2011) |
| Father | Thomas Ernest Keeney (1893 - 1969) |
| Mother | Georgia Emma Lobstein (1900 - 1924) |
| Sibling | Haden Edward Keeney (1922 - 1923) |
| Sibling | James Franklin "Rip" Keeney (1923 - 2014) |