Malcolm Keith Weikel

Sea Island, Georgia and Toledo, Ohio resident Malcolm (“Keith”) Weikel passed from this life at Mayo Clinic Hospital in Jacksonville, Florida after a courageous battle with myelodysplastic syndrome (MDS). Born in Danville, Pennsylvania, Keith was the older of two sons of Malcolm Jay Weikel and Marian Faust Weikel. His childhood was spent in the rural Appalachian Mountains, in the heart of the Anthracite Coal region in Pennsylvania. There he helped raise chickens (400-500 at a time), picked strawberries, and performed other farming duties to help raise money for his family who lived just above the poverty level.

After graduating from Shamokin High School in 1956, Keith earned a B.S. in Pharmacy from Philadelphia College of Pharmacy and Science (PCP) in 1960, graduating Cum Laude while working three part time jobs. He was the first in his family to graduate from college. On a blind date, he met his match and ideal life partner, Barbara Joan Davis, who was a student just across the city at Abingdon School of Nursing. They met in the summer of 1959 and were married on December 17, 1960. From Philadelphia Keith earned a Masters and PhD in Economics and Marketing '66 from the University of Wisconsin-Madison School of Business. This is where the couple became lifelong Badgers fans, returning to Madison many times for football games and UW philanthropic events.

From Wisconsin the couple returned east to Barbara’s native New Jersey, where Keith worked for pharmaceutical giant Hoffman-La Roche’s Roche Labs. In late 1967 Keith began his foray into politics serving as New Jersey Co-Chair of Republicans for Richard Nixon’s campaign. It was during this time he faced a life-threatening diagnosis of malignant melanoma at age 30. He received state-of-the art treatment at New York’s Memorial Sloan Kettering and seven years later for a complication at the National Cancer Institute in Bethesda, Maryland.

In late 1970 after many recruitment calls from the Nixon administration, he moved to McLean, Virginia, where he and Barbara would raise their family and begin his public service career as Director of the Division of Health Evaluation in the Office of the Secretary for the Department of Health & Education & Welfare. Talented and skilled, during his time in Washington he would serve three presidents: Nixon, Ford, and Carter. As one of the few Republicans to be held over in the Carter Administration, Keith served as the Commissioner of Medical Services Administration responsible for Medicaid. An enormous responsibility, at the time Medicaid was the third largest line item in the federal budget after the Department of Defense and the Social Security Administration. During this time Keith testified numerous times before Congress, a wish he would not bestow on his worst enemy and said that that experience made going back into corporate America a cakewalk.

In 1979 he left the government to pursue a career in the private sector as President and CEO of Friesen International, a subsidiary of hospital company American Medical International (AMI). Turning around a nearly bankrupt Friesen with a focus on strategic planning for AMI hospitals and other clinics throughout the world, the experience encompassed worldwide travel to study healthcare operations in Ecuador, Argentina, the United Kingdom, and Kuwait. Still active in public policy, he also served during this time as industry president of the Federation of American Hospitals.

In 1984 he transitioned to the long-term care side of the industry joining Manor Care Corporation and then in 1986 Healthcare and Retirement Corporation (HCR) in Toledo, Ohio, as Chief Operating Officer and board member. He navigated the complexities of an ever-changing healthcare market and leveraged his knowledge of the governmental regulatory system to participate and lead the industry groups American Healthcare Association (AHCA) and The Alliance. When he left HCR in 2006, which by then also had acquired Manor Care, the company operated more than 500 healthcare facilities in 32 states with revenues of almost $4 billion and 60,000 employees. The creative and political complexities of the job were a perfect match for his superior intellect, drive, and thoughtful leadership. He was a caring boss and mentor to many of his employees.

In his retirement he kept active on several boards: Laboratory Corporation of America, the Board of the University of Wisconsin-Madison School of Business, and Direct Supply, Inc. He also remained involved with his beloved University of Wisconsin, establishing the Weikel Leadership Speaker Symposium. Keith will be remembered for his signature laugh, his breadth of professional accomplishments, the creative tunes he whistled, and the original songs he sang and dedicated to many family members or colleagues. But above all, he will be remembered for the love and devotion to his wife of over 60 years, Barbara, who gave unwavering support and constructive criticism. Keith is also survived by their two children, Richard Keith (Michele) Weikel and Kristin Holly Weikel and two grandchildren, Connor and Lillian, as well as brother Allen Jay Weikel (Barbara) and nephews Scott and David Weikel.

The Weikel family requests that in lieu of flowers, anyone wishing to commemorate Keith make a contribution to: Hand in Hand of Glynn or a charity of their choice. While Keith supported many charitable causes, he never forgot his early years, and no gift gave him more satisfaction than the large scholarship for disadvantage students he funded at Shamokin High School in his Mother’s memory.

There will be a celebration of his life in Toledo, Ohio in the fall of 2021.

Edo Miller and Sons is in charge of the arrangements. You may sign the register book and leave condolences for the family at www.edomillerandsons.com