Addison R. "Bud" Keckler

Addison R. “Bud” Keckler, 86, of Liberty, Missouri, died June 5, 2017, at the Missouri Veterans Home, Cameron, Missouri. Visitation will be conducted on Thursday, June 8, 2017 from 6:00-8:00 p.m. with a Masonic Service at 7:00 p.m. at Church-Archer Pasley Funeral Home, 119 East Franklin Street, Liberty, Missouri. Graveside service will be Friday, June 9, 2017 at 1:00 p.m. at Mount Moriah South Cemetery, 10507 Holmes Road, Kansas City, Missouri. Born in 1930 in Kansas City, Missouri, as the second child of Franklin Addison Keckler and Florence Stolfus Keckler, Bud was preceded in death by his parents, his sister Helen, who died in infancy in 1927, his sister Florene Joan Keckler Huffman, and his wife, Donna Joan Campbell Keckler. He is survived by his son, David, of Jefferson City, Missouri, in-laws, numerous nieces and nephews, grand nieces and nephews, and great-grand nieces and nephews. Bud grew up in North Kansas City, Missouri, attended McElroy Dagg School, and was baptized in the First Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) in 1940. He was active in Boy Scouts and track team, and graduated from North Kansas City High School. Enlisting in the United States Marine Corps in 1948, he was posted to Treasure Island in San Francisco. At the outbreak of the Korean War in 1950, Bud was deployed with the 2nd Battalion, 5th Regiment, 1st Provisional Marine Brigade (later the 1st Marine Division) immediately dispatched to the conflict in July. Bud took an active part in the defense of the South Korea’s Pusan Perimeter, the Naktong River campaign, the Inchon landing and liberation of Seoul, and the Chosin Reservoir campaign in North Korea. After being rotated out of the Korean theater in 1951, Bud returned briefly to Kansas City, where he married Donna Joan Campbell, who accompanied to his final posting as a sergeant, guard, and instructor at China Lake (Inyokern), Ca. At the conclusion of his service in 1952, Bud returned with Donna to North Kansas City. He enrolled in Finlay Engineering College, Kansas City, and received a B.S. degree as a civil engineer in 1954. During his studies, Bud and Donna’s son, David was born. Bud served for several years as assistant city engineer for North Kansas City before being elected Clay County surveyor and appointed as county engineer in 1960, re-elected and re-appointed in 1964. Bud was elected to the National Society of Professional Engineers and the Missouri Society of Professional Engineers in 1964. He joined Masonic Alpha Lodge No. 659 AF&AM in North Kansas City in 1960, and later affiliated with Liberty Lodge No. 31 AF&AM in Liberty. He also participated in the Liberty York Rite bodies and the Ararat Shrine in Kansas City. After a brief stint as an independent engineer and surveyor, Bud joined Burns and McDonnell Engineering in Kansas City, where he administered numerous national and local contracts, including construction at Kansas City International Airport, from 1968 through 1986. Traveling globally, his work included a return to Seoul, South Korea, in 1982, which he hadn’t seen since his war years. He joined Coffman Associates, Kansas City, in 1986 as an airport and facilities engineer and planner on national and international projects. In “semi-retirement,” from 1998 through 2007, Bud served as a consulting engineer on numerous municipal facilities, paving, and sanitation projects for the cities of North Kansas City and Riverside, Missouri. In 2011, due to the onset of Alzheimer’s Disease and other physical complications, he became a resident of the Missouri Veterans Home in Cameron, Missouri where he enjoyed veterans’ activities and excellent care until his death. In lieu of flowers, the family suggests memorial contributions to various Alzheimer’s research and treatment organizations or to the Missouri State Veterans Homes system.