John F. Keith

He was born July 21, 1924 in Mason City, IL to Joseph and Bertha (Canada) Keith. He married Edith Inez Allen on July 2,1949 in Pontiac, IL. She passed away May 31, 1996 in Peoria.

Survivors include his daughter Kay (Kevin) Marthaler of Murfreesboro, TN; grandchildren, Kim (Mark) Wood of Rockvale, TN, Ty (Jennifer) Piercy of Peoria, IL, Jeannine (Rick) Strickler of LaGrange GA, Dawn (Chris) Holly of Pekin, IL, Melissa (Matt) Alger of Elmwood, IL and Matthew (Kristin) Saeger of Bartonville, IL; 15 Great-Grandchildren; 2 Great-Great Grandchildren and son-in-law Paul Saeger of Springfield, IL.

He was preceded in death by his parents, wife Inez, daughter Judy Saeger, daughter Joyce Piercy, son-in- law Bob Piercy and 3 brothers, Martin, Bill and Raymond Keith.

John was a farmer, a WW II Navy Veteran, Caterpillar employee for 36 years, and his favorite titles were the following: “Grandpa Patches”, baby-sitter to Kim/Ty {all one word}, avid Cardinals fan (was a catcher himself) and an immense storyteller always taking us to faraway places to New Caledonia and back to the farm in Mason City.

Funeral Services will be held Saturday, January 12, 2019 at 2 p.m. at Davison-Fulton Woodland Chapel. Visitation will be held an hour prior to services. Burial will be in Parkview Cemetery.

In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions may be made to the American Cancer Society.

Online condolences may be made to www.davison-fulton.com