Eugene "Gene" Roger Keener

He grew up in Franklin and Brevard, NC, and graduated from Brevard High School. Soon after, Gene served in the United States Air Force where he worked on the F-102 Delta Dagger, winning an award for inventing a missile tube testing procedure and tooling which improved the installation efficiency of the weapons system.

Gene then attended East Tennessee State University where he earned his BS degree in Economics and Business, graduating in 1964. He met his beloved wife of 60 years, Judy, while doing graduate coursework at the University of Georgia. Eventually, he received his MS in Vocational Rehabilitation from Virginia Commonwealth University.

After marrying in 1965, Gene and Judy moved to Raleigh, where he became the assistant director of the North Carolina Department of Vocational Rehabilitation. He then joined his father-in-law, E.D. Swain, at R&S Distributing Company, where he eventually became the President of R&S and its chain of fine dining restaurants, Swain’s Charcoal Steakhouse.

A true Renaissance Man, Gene excelled at a wide variety of pursuits. In 1990, he patented his invention, a multi-configuration pillow and back rest, the “PilloRest”, of which hundreds of thousands were sold. He took up various hobbies over his lifetime, mastered them, and then often moved on to the next thing that sparked his interest. He hunted and fished as a young man in the mountains of North Carolina, and continued fishing through mid-life from the surf at Summer Winds in Indian Beach, and piers off the North Carolina coast. When Gene retired at 50, he returned to hunting and had a number of big-game trophies, including a recording-breaking 850 lb. elk in Colorado.

He wrote poetry, prose, and song lyrics, sometimes spending years revising a particular work until he felt it was perfect. Gene’s other artistic pursuits included painting, furniture-making, stained glass, wooden sculpture, and folk art. He could design and build a house from the ground up, and beautify its exterior with a gorgeous flower garden. Family, friends, and neighbors were always excited for tomato season, when he shared his delicious heirlooms, often grown from seeds he harvested from the previous year.

A life-long church-goer, as an adult, Gene decided to seek a personal relationship with Jesus after a conversation with a treasured retired pastor. Gene spent hours reading scripture as evidenced by his well-worn Bibles throughout the house. He especially loved the book of Hebrews and the Psalms. He was a member of Providence Baptist Church.

He was a shining example of a Christian husband and father, a man of honor, integrity and honesty.

Gene is now in Heaven with Jesus and his parents, John H. and Dana N. Keener, brothers John and Harold, sisters Carolyn Fisher, Dana Waldrop, Hazel Hays, Pauline Kirkland, and Viola Poteet, and his Jack Russell Terrier, Sam. He is survived by his wife Judith Swain Keener, his daughter Ashleigh Keener and her husband Rich Martinez, his son Justin Keener, and many nieces and nephews.

A private family interment will be held at Raleigh Memorial Park Mausoleum.

Memorials may be made to: Providence Church, 6339 Glenwood Ave, Raleigh NC 27612, or the Raleigh Rescue Mission, PO Box 58634, Raleigh, NC 27658.

If you would like to leave a favorite memory / story of Gene, or a message of condolence for his family, you may do so below, within 'Add a Memory'.