Nora Patricia Keenan

Nora Patricia Keenan, age 56, died on February 14, 2026 from complications related to colorectal cancer. Nora had this to say about herself last month “I lived several lives, sometimes before lunch. I was the yin and the yang, often in the same room, occasionally in the same argument. I arrived as a free spirit, allergic to rules and deeply suspicious of authority, especially when it was correct. For a number of years, I was also a drug addict. Not the glamorous kind you see in movies, but the repetitive, exhausting, unphotogenic kind. I tested the theory that you can outrun yourself. You can’t. Eventually I got clean, which surprised everyone, including me. That’s when I rejoined the human race and was cautiously readmitted into my family, like a cat that had been missing too long to fully trust. I could be self-centered. I could also be generous. Sometimes in the same afternoon. I had strong opinions, flexible boundaries, and an impressive capacity for both love and poor decisions. I made messes. I cleaned some of them up. Others I left as character-building exercises for those around me. I was not easy. I was not simple. I was not boring. If you knew me early, you might remember chaos. If you knew me later, you might remember growth. If you knew me well, you knew both showed up unannounced. I learned that being good isn’t about being spotless; it’s about being honest and sticking around long enough to do better. I hope somewhere in all that living, relapsing, recovering, loving, failing, returning, and trying again, I made a difference. Even a small one counts. Especially the small ones. They tend to last longer. I lived hard, learned late, loved imperfectly, and showed up anyway. That will have to be enough.” Nora was loved by - and more than enough for - her parents, Thomas and Mary Jane Keenan (deceased) siblings Mary (Andrew) Bolton, Judy Keenan (Vielka Holness, deceased), Kathleen (Anthony) Marchione, Maureen Keenan (deceased), Thomas Keenan, and numerous nieces, nephews, grand nieces and grand nephews, and others who knew her.

A memorial visitation for her will be held at Pixley Funeral Home, located at 322 W. University Dr., Rochester, Michigan, 48307, on February 27, 2026, from 4:00 pm to 8:00 pm.

Her memorial Mass will take place at Christ the Redeemer Catholic Community, located at 2700 Waldon Rd, Lake Orion, MI 48360, on February 28, 2026, starting at 11:00 am with guest invited to arrive at 10:30 am.

Memorial donations can be made in her memory to Grace Centers of Hope https://gracecentersofhope.org/ or American Cancer Society https://www.cancer.org/donate/hope.html.