Marsha A. Keeth

Born February 4, 1944, in Zanesville, Ohio, to the late Walter C. and Mary Louise (Uram) Doak, Marsha dedicated her life to her family and friends.

A 1962 graduate of Zanesville (Ohio) High School, Marsha earned a bachelor's degree in deaf education from Kent State University. She went on to teach at the Alexander Graham Bell School for the Deaf in Columbus, Ohio, where she taught students to lip read.

After meeting on a blind date, Marsha married her husband, Jim, in 1970. The couple relocated to Indianapolis, where Marsha became a beloved fixture of her community — playing piano at Hoosier Village and White Harvest United Methodist Church, accompanying her children at ISSMA contests, and volunteering in Washington Township Schools in the nurse’s office and as a parent classroom helper.

But her greatest joy was being a mother. She cared devotedly for her children's health and wellbeing, taught them life lessons, nurtured their childhood friendships, hosted birthday parties, took the family on trips, and encouraged in them a love of learning, purpose, and empathy for others.

Long after her children were grown and married, she never stopped checking in. It became a running joke among her children to tell her — often untruthfully — that they'd heard a sibling cough or sneeze, just to watch Marsha spring into action with questions about eating right, getting enough sleep, and taking care of themselves.

She was a master in her own kitchen and took great pride and pleasure in cooking for family and friends. Her signature dishes included chicken tetrazzini, homemade spaghetti sauce, spaghetti pie, almond chicken, layered salad, rickshaw salad, green cake, peanut butter cookies, and pumpkin bars. Even her children's college roommates benefited from her generosity, as she routinely mailed care packages of cookies and other sweets to be shared.

In her free time, Marsha enjoyed crossword and jigsaw puzzles, reading, and pysanky — an Eastern European egg-decorating technique she learned from her mother and grandmother that uses melted beeswax and vibrant dyes to create beautiful, intricate geometric designs.

She is survived by her husband, James Keeth; daughter Mari-lise Hayes and her spouse Brian; son James Keeth and his spouse Nancy; daughter Courtney Cummings and her spouse Mike; and grandchildren Leah Hayes, Emily Hayes, Sophia Keeth, Benjamin Keeth, and Paige Hayes.

Marsha was immensely proud of — and loved deeply — her family. Her grandchildren, and even her "grand-dogs," meant the world to her, and she loved sending them cards and gifts to support their education and extracurricular pursuits.

A celebration of life will be held Wednesday, September 16, from 3–5 p.m. at Leppert Mortuaries, 740 E 86th Street, Indianapolis, Indiana, 46240, with a short service to follow.

In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to support the Indiana Deaf Children Foundation at www.indianadeafchildrenfoundation.org.