CAPE CORAL, Fla. — We (Doug and Jeff) were asked to write an obituary for our dad by our mom. There are the easy parts, born Sept. 23, 1947, in Kankakee; and the day he passed, March 26, 2022 at 4:29 p.m., in Cape Coral, Fla., from AML (Acute Myeloid Leukemia). He was born to Fred and Evelyn Keast. He is survived by his wife, Cheryl Keast, of almost 54 years; brother, Ron (Samantha); brother-in-law, Lee; sons, Doug (Melissa) and Jeff (Jenny); nieces, Danielle and Stephanie; grandchildren, Brittney (Brian), Timothy, Logan, Hailey and Mikayla; and great-grandchildren, Ava and Aiden.

So, for the hard part, while on this earth 27,214 days, Roger became a great son, brother, husband, father, uncle, grandfather, great-grandfather and friend. He loved to be on the water with his boat at Harbor Side Marina traveling to Lake Michigan. He loved to travel, especially to Key West. Roger loved to spend time with his family and friends.

He had many loves in his life but none compares to his love for our mom. He married mom July 13, 1968. She has always been the love of his life. They did everything together. Doug and I (Jeff) were lucky enough to be huge parts of their adventures, whether all of the life-changing camping adventures while kids or the multiple vacations including our first cruises. Their love is so amazing and inspirational. There are several trips we didn’t join them on, while growing our own families. The two that really stand out were their trip to the Canary Islands (which is on my bucket list), and Hawaii, where my dad reaffirmed his vows to my mom. You really don’t reflect sometimes unless your world gets rocked by a life-changing event. There are so many ways he has helped shape my life and so many others.

Roger was an electrician, an apprenticeship teacher, assistant business manager and electrical contractor. We know we have missed a bunch. While doing all that, he was also our Cubmaster, our coach, our mentor, our friend and hero. He always took time to be at all of our events. We could look in to the crowd and they both were always there. These are some of the things we take for granted. Roger is loved and will be missed. There are so many lives he touched and people who could call him friend, only two people can call him brother, only two can call him dad, and only one can call him husband. Godspeed Dad and us knuckleheads love you more than you will ever know.

~ Jeff Keast