Keith York loved the freedom of the open road, tooling around on his beloved Harley-Davidson motorcycle.
“I always worried about him,” said his mother, Billie York, 84, of Murphy. “But he would say, ‘Well, if I die on my Harley, you’ll know I died happy.’ He just loved being able to ride and be free.”
Mr. York died Oct. 1 at 59 of complications from lung cancer. He was a longtime letter carrier in Fenton and Pacific.
He grew up in the rural area between High Ridge and Fenton, the youngest of three children.
“We have about 4 acres, and always had a large garden,” Billie said. “We had a big strawberry patch, and the kids helped with that. We even picked and sold strawberries for a time.”
Mr. York had a typical Jefferson County boyhood, playing in the woods and fields, Little League baseball, Cub Scouts and Boy Scouts. He attended Murphy Elementary, North Jefferson (now Woodridge) Middle School, then Northwest High School.
“In high school, he played the saxophone in the band,” his mother said. “Actually, he was in the jazz band also.”
He began riding Harleys in his teens, and would eventually collect several.
“He was always working on them,” his mother said.
After high school, Mr. York worked a series of jobs.
“He rode to Houston with a friend and worked as a land surveyor,” Billie said. “They did that for about six months, then he rode his bike back home.”
He was 27 when he was hired by the U.S. Postal Service, following in the footsteps of his father, Roland, who retired as postmaster at House Springs.
“It was very good work back in those days – good pay, good benefits,” Billie said. “So it was a good job for him.”
Mr. York enjoyed meeting people along his route, whether driving or walking, and helped customers along the way.
“He’d finish his route and go back to the Post Office, then return and help them out in the evening,” Billie said. “He had one elderly lady who had no family, and he was so concerned about her. He even took her to doctor appointments, did her food shopping if she needed it.”
Billie said her son helped a lot of people in that way.
“He was a little spoiled, being the youngest,” she said with a laugh. “But he was always helpful, and when he grew up, he did a lot to help people.”
One of his favorite things to do was taking long trips by motorcycle.
“He went to Sturgis (motorcycle rally in South Dakota), and he went to one in Daytona, Fla.,” Billie said. “He had a lot of friends he’d ride with.”
Mr. York was a member and past president of the Franklin County chapter of Freedom of the Road Riders, and his wife, Cindy, often rode behind him.
Billie said her son quickly came to love Cindy’s children after their 2007 wedding.
“Laura was 13 and Chris was out of the house when they got married, but he thought of them as his own,” she said. “Especially Laura; he was very close to her.”
The family lived in the lake community of Lake St. Clair, and enjoyed boating and fishing.
“In his younger years, he liked to hunt and fish,” Billie said. “But in the last few years, he enjoyed just sitting and chilling out with his friends.”
Each year, Mr. York would pick elderberries and make several gallons of wine.
“Enough to make his friends happy,” his mother said with a laugh. “He learned from his dad.”
Since the death of his father seven years ago, Mr. York went out of his way to spend time with his mother.
“He said I had taken care of him all his life and it was his turn to take care of me,” Billie said, her voice breaking. “And he did. He came in and mowed the grass, plowed the garden, whatever I needed. I always cooked him a meal – his favorite was meat loaf. And I always made him an icebox cheesecake for his birthday.”
Mr. York left the postal service in 2016 after a 30-year career.
“He wanted to ride his bike and enjoy his retirement,” Billie said. “He had to work a lot of overtime in the last few years, with the postal service downsizing, and he was ready to take it easy.”
Mr. York was diagnosed with Stage 4 lung cancer in December 2017.
“The tumor was attached to his heart, and it was inoperable,” his mother said. “They put him on chemo, and he went through one round and started on the second in around April. It just made him so sick, and he decided to opt out of treatment.”
Mr. York battled pneumonia, spending nine days in the hospital at one point.
“The doctors told him they couldn’t save him; they might be able to prolong his life, but it wouldn’t be what he wanted,” Billie said. “He didn’t want to go back to the hospital.”
He had seen his father fight cancer, and he knew what was in store.
“Knowing he only had a few months, he wasn’t going to spend them being sick,” Billie said. “So he just lived. He got his wish; he never went back to the hospital. He went on hospice and died at home.”
Billie said her son’s easygoing nature helped him enjoy his final months as he enjoyed most of his life.
“He had a good sense of humor, and he was able to have some good times,” she said. “He just took everything one day at a time.”