Obit
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In reply to:
Re: Obit Lookup Please
Jan Payne 9/14/09
Thank You and ARGHHHH!First of all, thank you so very much for finding the obit in the Cushing Daily Citizen for David Keeley.I have several comments/rebuttals to make.
(1) That the service was held at St. Peter & St. Paul's Catholic Church is so puzzling to me.I have had several conversations and communications with that church and they have told me that the family were never members of that church.Any idea where the Bristow parish is?Do they mean Bristow, OK?But, I also know that David was buried in the Catholic cemetery - St. Leo's, as I've also had several conversations with the caretaker.To my knowledge, and family records, the family was Methodist.
(2) John and Agnes Keeley (parents of David) owned the Santa Fe Bakery.David and his brother, Harry, had nothing to do with the bakery, they followed the oil strikes in Kansas, Louisiana, Texas and Oklahoma.
(3) David may have claimed Cushing as his home for twenty years but it was just a mailing address.In 1913 he was in the Vera, OK area where my uncle was born, in 1915 in Cushing where my father was born, in 1918 he was in Eldorado, KS when he registered for WWI, in 1920 he was in Eastland City, TX, with the family, and so forth.
(4) The Obit says "he is survived by his wife who lives here".That's the ARGHH part - who the heck is his wife??Later in the Obit it says "Mr. & Mrs. Jul Lavelett of Wewoka, cousins of Mrs. Keeley arrived here today."Wonder if those are cousins of the unnamed 'widow' Keeley?
(5) Altho it probably doesn't matter much at this point but the cause of death stated in the Obit & on the death certificate is somewhat misleading.I have a statement from his brother Harry (via his son, Harry, Jr.) that David was on his way to another oil strike in Colorado and was caught in a blizzard and buried alive in his car for several days until the snow melted enough that the top of his car was visible and he was found by a rancher.He had pneumonia, dehydration, shock, and several other associated ailments that he never recovered from.
(6) The obit lists nephews and nieces as "Neallen".The correct spelling of their last name is "Nealon".
Altho this message is long, I am posting it to leave a record for others who might be interested.Thank you, again, for all of your research.It is so very much appreciated.