Donald Raymond Keough

Donald Raymond Keough, international business leader, philanthropist and prominent Irish-American, who served as president of The Coca-Cola Company during the 1980s and early 1990s, died February 24 of natural causes in Atlanta. He was 88.

Keough served as president, chief operating officer and director of The Coca-Cola Company from 1981 to 1993. He returned to the company’s board in 2004 and served in that capacity until his retirement from the board in 2013.

His career included leadership roles with many other companies and civic and educational organizations, including serving as chairman of the New York investment-banking firm Allen & Company, from 1993 until his death.

Keough was born Sept. 4, 1926, on a farm near Maurice, Iowa. He was raised in Sioux City, Iowa. After serving two years in the U.S. Navy during World War II, Keough attended and graduated from Creighton University in Omaha, Nebraska.

Keough began his career as an on-air personality for WOW-TV in Omaha, where he hosted a program called “The Coffee Counter.” Following his brief television career, he joined Paxton & Gallagher, an Omaha food distribution company that owned the Butter-Nut Coffee brand. In 1962, when the company was purchased by Duncan Foods Company, Keough and his family moved to Houston, Texas.

Duncan Foods was acquired by The Coca-Cola Company in 1964, and in 1973 he relocated to the Coca-Cola headquarters in Atlanta.

He served as Chairman of Coca-Cola Enterprises and Columbia Pictures, and was a director of IAC/InterActiveCorp, Berkshire Hathaway, Yankee Global Enterprises LLC, McDonald’s Corporation, The Washington Post Company, H.J. Heinz Company and The Home Depot.

Keough was a long time parishioner and supporter of the Cathedral of Christ the King, a former trustee of The Lovett School and a supporter of many causes in Atlanta including, most recently, a gift to the High Museum endowing a permanent curatorial position. In addition, he was chairman emeritus of the Board of Trustees of the University of Notre Dame, as well as a trustee of numerous educational, charitable and civic organizations.

His commitment to Notre Dame helped the university maintain a leadership position in areas such as Irish Studies, Philosophy, Theology and Global Affairs.

Keough received countless honors and awards during his lifetime, including honorary doctorates from his alma mater, Creighton, Notre Dame, Trinity College, and University College Dublin.

Keough’s deep Irish roots traced to his great-grandfather, Michael Keough, who immigrated to the United States in the 1840s. In 2007, Keough was granted Irish Citizenship by the Government of Ireland.

Donald Keough is survived by his wife, Marilyn, their children, Kathleen Keough Soto and her husband Gilbert, Shayla Keough Rumely and her husband John, Michael Keough and his wife Jinny, Patrick Keough and his wife Megan, Eileen Keough Millard and her husband Chris, Clarke Keough and his wife Beth, 18 grandchildren and 2 great-grandchildren.

Visitation is planned for Monday March 2 from 5 until 7 o'clock in the evening at the Cathedral of Christ the King. A funeral service will be held at the Cathedral of Christ the King on Tuesday March 3 at 10 o'clock in the morning. In lieu of flowers, memorials may be directed to a favorite charity such as Cathedral of Christ the King, The University of Notre Dame, The Lovett School, Emory St. Joseph’s Hospital, The High Museum or The Atlanta Opera.