George Edward Keane, 86, formerly of Festus, died Aug. 26, 2020, in Lubbock, Texas. Mr. Keane was retired as a senior analyst-programmer for Ralston-Purina in St. Louis and formerly worked as a chemist for Roman and Haas Co. in New York City. He also had taught high school chemistry in Carlinville, Ill. He was a veteran of the U.S. Army, serving in Korea as a combat engineer with the 13th Engineering Battalion. He was a collector of antique pottery and the rare stereopticon views of the Johnstown flood in Pennsylvania. At work and in his hobbies he enjoyed obscure research projects, such as studying early precision instruments like slide rules, and discovered that many were produced by a company located in Festus. Mostly he enjoyed studying his family genealogy, where he found five links to the Revolutionary War. He was born Sept. 12, 1933, in Waukegan, Ill., the son of the late Beatrice Elizabeth (Anderson) and Francis Gerald Keane.
He is survived by his wife of 63 years: Carol Ann (Ingels) Keane of Cape Girardeau; two daughters: Karen (Ken) Wilson of Cape Girardeau and Susan Flagg of Denver City, Texas; five grandchildren: Christopher (Amanda) Flagg, Rachel (Kyle) Klahs, Molly Olten, Thomas Wilson and Matthew (Corbin) Wilson; and five great-grandchildren: Chloe Flagg, Waylon Flagg, Anton Klahs, Jonas Klahs and Judah Wilson.
A memorial gathering will be held beginning at 11 a.m. Thursday, Oct. 1, at the Byrd Sanctuary Pavilion in Sunset Park in Festus. A memorial service and burial with full military honors will follow at 1:30 p.m. in the National Cemetery at Jefferson Barracks. Memorials may be made to NSDAR (National Society of Daughters of the American Revolution) Louisiana Purchase Chapter, c/o Marty Tidd, 1112 N. Second St., Festus, 63028. Arrangements are under the direction of Vinyard Funeral Home in Festus.