He was born on December 21, 1952, in Poughkeepsie, NY, to the late Edward and Harriett Keating. Gary spent the first years of his life in Poughkeepsie, NY, attending Holy Trinity Catholic School and graduating from Our Lady of Lourdes High School, where he played basketball. He went on to attend Siena College in Loudonville, NY, where he played lacrosse and earned a Bachelor’s degree in Finance with a minor in Theology.
Gary met the Love of His Life, Katherine A. Kochis (Kay), at Our Lady of Lourdes High School, and began dating their Senior year. They continued going together while Gary attended Siena College and were married on August 4, 1973. After his graduation in 1974, Gary began his career as a Junior Systems Analyst at IBM in Poughkeepsie. He held various positions throughout his career at IBM and opportunities took his wife and family from New York, to Austin, Texas, and then to Cary, North Carolina in 1995. Gary grew his career at IBM and was Vice President of Worldwide Materials and Supply Assurance at the time of his retirement in 2011 after 37 years. The position he enjoyed the most though, was spending time with is wife, children, and grandchildren. Gary loved to travel with his wife Kay, loved movies, loved sports, loved listening to AC/DC, Metallica, and loved reading. He was a huge Denver Broncos and Duke Basketball fan. One of his favorite places to travel was Barbados. He and Kay honeymooned there and returned for milestone anniversaries and soon every summer for the past 10 + years.
At the time of his passing, Gary had been married to Kay for 44 years. He was no doubt the best Husband, Father, and Papa anyone could ask for.
Gary is survived by his wife Katherine A. Keating of Cary, NC; his daughter Jennifer and Dustin Sliva of Cary, NC; his son Jeffrey and Elizabeth Keating of Centennial, CO; his grandchildren Emma, Gary, Lance, Jade, Kara, and Colin; his brother Kevin and Kwi Keating of Marshall, VA; and loved by many nieces and nephews.
The family will receive family and friends at Brown Wynn Funeral Home Cary, NC on Thursday, April 5, 2018 from 5:00-6:30pm. A Funeral Service will be held on Friday, April 6, 2018 at 10:00am at St Michael the Archangel Catholic Church Cary, NC. Burial will follow at Wake Memorial Park Cary, NC.
In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to St. Jude’s Children’s Research Hospital or the American Cancer Society.
The Keating Family would like to extend their sincere gratitude to all the staff at Duke University Hospital in Durham, NC and Transitions Lifecare in Raleigh, NC.
