Memories of Keith

Keith's obituary was published in the Daily Herald on Friday, and it's been so heartwarming to read the comments, mostly from former students. A great example of Keith's legacy after 32 years of teaching.

You can read them here.

Link to Keith's Obituary

Keith's obituary is published in the January 15th edition of the Daily Herald.

Here is the link.

Funeral Information

Keith's funeral has been set for 10:30 a.m. this Saturday, at Holy Family Parish in Inverness.

Click here for the church's home page.

One Journey Ends, Another Begins...

Keith died this morning, about 7:20 a.m., and for everyone who loved him, it is comforting to know that his suffering is over and he is safely in the hands of the Lord. Even so, tonight my heart is broken and I'm feeling such profound sadness at the loss of this wonderful man.

I've started to write down some of my favorite memories of Keith and I'll be posting some of that here as we walk through the next few days. I'll add information about the funeral and any other events as those details are finalized.

For now I'm going back to YouTube, and I'm going to sing along as loud as I can:

So let's worship Him with a mighty voice, like we're already with Him in paradise, Praise God on high! Praise God!

Update

Here is the text of an e-mail message Sue Basten sent out this morning:

Dear Friends,

The time is near when God will graciously take Keith home where his tears and suffering will be no more. Per Marty, Keith's blood pressure is dropping and the doctor said Keith will pass-on either today or tomorrow.

Please continue your loving prayers for our Dearest Keith, Cindy & their daughters. They are forever grateful.

God bless you.

When The Time Comes ...

I spoke with Lynn Robinson yesterday afternoon and she advised me that Cindy and her family have started to make some decisions. When the time comes, Keith's funeral service will be held at Holy Family in Inverness. They're talking about having a memorial event at Willow Creek at some point as well.

Another Song That's Comforting Me

Praise God On High, by Rory Noland, was one of my favorite worship songs when I was attending Willow Creek. In fact, I had said that I wanted it sung at my own funeral, when that day comes. I had been hearing the song in my head for a couple of days, and sure enough, it didn't take long to find it on YouTube.

Here's the YouTube link, and I hope it comforts you as much as it's been comforting me.

On Eagles' Wings

This video is a nice version of On Eagles' Wings that I found on YouTube. It's giving me a great deal of comfort.

Update

For anyone who didn't see Sue's most recent e-mail, apparently Keith is too weak to be moved to the hospice so he will remain in the hospital and receive hospice care there.

All of our prayers continue for Cindy and Keith, and their family.

Keith and Cindy

To everyone who loves Keith and Cindy, this is the text of an e-mail message I sent to Sue Basten when she asked me how Cindy sounded when I spoke with her Thursday afternoon:

Cindy sounded pretty matter-of-fact, considering the circumstances. I think both she and Keith are at peace about the decision they made (regarding not pursuing any further treatment) and they want to experience the next few days with as much love, gentleness and grace as possible, surrounded by their family. I'm sure her emotions are very deep and very painful, but she's working very hard to hold herself together.

She did express some humor, such as Keith dealing with the reality of what happens when you're hospitalized (assistance from a nurse with personal stuff such as bathing, for example). She said she and Keith kind of laughed about that, which I thought was positive. (What else can you do but laugh, so to speak.) I also forgot to mention before that her Mom is coming in Saturday, which will be good.

Overall I was encouraged by my conversation with Cindy, in the sense that she sounded like she's accepted a difficult and unchangeable truth and is walking through it with God's help. For me, I'm particularly grateful that Andrea and her family got here safely, because I was very concerned about that.

I will update this blog whenever there is something to share. Kimberly