David Parsons Keener

David Parsons Keener was born on July 1, 1928 in Canaan, Connecticut, the son of Howard Hatmaker and Lillian Parsons. After graduating from high school in 1946, he joined the U.S. Navy, and served his country honorably during the Korean War as a signalman and quartermaster on the destroyers U.S.S. Keppler and U.S.S. Benham, and the aircraft carrier U.S.S. Valley Forge. After being discharged from the Navy in 1953, he worked in business in New York City, and then traveled to the West Coast where he managed landscaping for the Department of Water and Power in Los Angeles, California for many years.

A lifelong learner, he returned to school after retiring from the Department of Water and Power, and earned an M.A. in History from Northern Arizona University in Flagstaff. He later served as an archivist at the National Park at Harper’s Ferry, West Virginia, before returning to his beloved southern California and embarking on a new career with the U.S. Customs Service. After retiring from the Customs Service, he moved to Asheville, North Carolina, where he met new friends, and embraced new hobbies, including ballroom dancing and yoga.

In 2013, he moved back to Connecticut to be closer to family, as he continued to make new friends and follow his favorite women’s basketball team, the UConn Huskies. He passed on October 6, 2017 after a rapid illness, and will be greatly missed by all who knew and loved him.

In addition to his many friends, he is survived by his brother Roger Keener and sister-in-law Beverly Keener of Northford, Connecticut, three nephews, two grandnephews, and two grandnieces.

A Mass of Christian burial will be celebrated at St. Mary Church in Bethel, Connecticut on Saturday, October 28 at 12:00 p.m.