Wallace Richard Keene

In 1922, Dick was born to Helen (Okeson) and Harry (Dick) Keene in Iola, Kansas. He grew up in Lawrence and enrolled at KU in 1940, where he played freshman basketball with such legends as Charlie Black and Ray Evans. He joined the US Army Air Corps during World War II and, after graduating from UCLA with a degree in physics/meteorology, he served as a Weather Officer in Oklahoma and North Africa. After the war, he returned to KU where he graduated in 1948 with a degree in accounting from the School of Business.

Dick started his professional life as a CPA for Peat, Marwick, Mitchell & Co (now KPMG), where he worked for seven years. In 1955, he joined the newly arrived Kansas City Athletics for two years as ticket manager and then as Controller. From there, Dick joined IBM in 1957, where his first assignment was on their first commercial core-based computer, the 705. He worked for IBM in marketing and financial management at their headquarters in New York, as the Midwest Regional Controller in Chicago, and at the Federal Systems Division in Washington, D.C.

In 1969, he joined friends Clark Murray and Bud Coulson in the ownership of Inland Newspaper Machinery Corp., from which he retired in 1986. He was a CPA, a CFP, and, most recently, a FINRA arbitrator. He was President of the Lakemary Endowment Association and City Treasurer of Mission Hills. He was a member of St. Andrews Episcopal Church and later attended services at the Second Presbyterian Church. He was a Sigma Chi and a member of Mission Hills Country Club.

After his retirement, he and his wife traveled to western Europe more than a dozen times, and enjoyed touring around the US and Canada and visiting family in California and Colorado. He was a lifetime card player and, in his words, he “practiced diligently to become a mediocre tennis player and golfer.” He golfed and rode his bike until shortly before his passing and he played winning Rummikub, literally, until his dying day. He was a lucky man and he knew it. He had a true penchant for instantly connecting with people, no matter their age or place in life. He enjoyed a lifetime of health and athletic vigor, a curious and quick-witted mind, and friends and family for whom he was a beloved mentor, playmate, supporter and inspiration. He was cheerful, modest, generous and kind. He was, quite simply, a good man.

Mr. Keene was married for 22 years to Carol Stuart until her death in 1969. In 1972, he was married to Janet Card Broaddus, until her passing in July 2019. He was also predeceased by his parents, brother Kenneth Keene, his son Stuart in 2010, and step-sons James G. Broaddus in 2015, and Thomas A. Broaddus in 2020. He is survived by his daughter Barbara Christopher (Rocky); step-son Philip Broaddus; Mrs. James Broaddus (Deborah); Mrs. Thomas Broaddus (Beverly); plus grandchildren Anna, Alison, and Stefan, Claire-Maria and Max, Andrew and Jackson, James Richard and Julian; and great-grandsons Remi, Enzo, Carson and Emerson.

Among his memories:

-Watching Babe Ruth hit a home run at Comiskey Park during the Chicago World’s Fair in 1933

-Chatting with actress Hedy Lamarr at the Hollywood Canteen in 1943, during WWII

-Being in the Diplomat Room at the Ambassador Hotel in LA in 1968, when he heard the shots that killed Bobby Kennedy

-Rafting down the Colorado River through the Grand Canyon for a week in 1972 with son Stuart and daughter Barbara

-Being in front of the White House with his wife and step-son, when President Nixon resigned and departed in 1974

A memorial service will be planned for this summer, and information can be found at Mt. Moriah’s website. In lieu of flowers, memorials are suggested to the Rose Brooks Center for Domestic Violence, P.O. Box 320599, K.C. MO 64132 (rosebrooks.org), or to the charity of one’s choice. Condolences and memories may be shared at mtmoriah.net.