Keith B. Oliver

From an early age, Keith developed a strong work ethic. From the age of 7, Keith worked a daily paper route before school to help his mother make ends meet. Keith spent his summers living with his aunts, uncles and cousins on the Maine coast, working in the family lobster and shellfish business to help support his mother and family. In his teenage years, Keith was an acolyte for his church in Portland, Maine, and it was here he met his future spouse Shirley of Portland, Maine.

In order to secure a future for himself and his future wife, Keith voluntarily enlisted in the US Army in July 1966, and was immediately deployed to the war in Vietnam after boot camp. Keith and Shirley married as soon as Keith returned from Southeast Asia 13 months later. Keith served for twenty years, retiring honorably as a Master Sergeant and the chief instructor of the US Army Signals Intelligence and Electronic Warfare school in Fort Devens, Massachusetts.

Like with any military family, Keith’s numerous deployments such as a one year tour of duty in Korea from 1973 to 1974 had their challenges. However, military life presented many unique opportunities such as living in the historic city of Augsburg in what was Western Germany from 1977 to 1980. The family enjoyed travels to countless castles, historic sites and nearby countries such as Austria.

Upon his retirement in 1986, Keith and his family returned to Maine to the small town of West Gardiner, and moved into a 19th century farmhouse on nearly 60 acres of fields and woods. Here the Olivers enjoyed bird, deer and moose watching, berry picking, a pond as well as ATVs and dirtbikes for Keith’s two boys. It was here in West Gardiner that Keith became an entrepreneur, first working in real estate and property. Eventually, Keith began a small but successful computer consulting business where he specialized in the technical support of the fledgling online real estate market.

It was also during this period that Keith developed a passion for aircraft and flying. With a manual that included one page of instruction for take offs, and three pages dedicated to landings, Keith bought, overhauled, and taught himself to fly his own ultralight aircraft out of a landing strip he built in his back yard and fields behind the farmhouse in West Gardiner.

Keith later went on to obtain his private pilot’s license, and later obtained his seaplane rating from Twitchell’s Air Service on the Androscoggin River in Turner, Maine. Keith maintained his interest in all things aviation for the next several decades,logging several hundreds of hours in many different types of aircraft and made countless cross country trips to the annual Sun and Fun event in Lakeland, Florida as well as the Experimental Aircraft Association’s AirVenture gathering in OshKosh, Wisconsin.

In his final years, Keith’s greatest of all passions was his three grandchildren, and he was always available for anything they needed or that he could provide.

In addition to his parents, Keith is predeceased by his brother, Bruce. He is survived by his wife of over 60 years, Shirley. He is also survived by his sons: Brian (Amy) Oliver of Belgrade, Maine and Stewart (Michelle) Oliver of Hoschton, Georgia as well as his three grandchildren Naomi, Chloe and Noah.

A memorial service with military honors will be held at Saint Anthony’s Church, Winder, Georgia on September 5 at 11 AM.