Posted: Friday, July 4, 2008 12:00 am
Jan. 14, 1943 - May 27, 2008
Ken was born in Snoqualmie Falls, Wash., on Jan. 14, 1943, to Kenneth Homer Keeling and Beatrice Evans. His parents raised him and his brother, Donald Evan Keeling, in the woods near Opal Workstation in Eastern Oregon.
He attended high school in Heppner, where he lettered in baseball. He was drafted into the Army, where he worked as a supply clerk. He received a math degree from Oregon State University. An avid outdoorsman, he enjoyed hunting, fishing, camping and playing cribbage. Ken joined the Santiam Pass Ski Patrol in 1969 (No. 4333), and he was associated with the Ski Patrol for most of the succeeding years, either as an active member or by providing technical assistance with projects undertaken by that organization. In his many years as an active member of the Ski Patrol, he served as patrol director, and in other capacities including instructor in ski mountaineering and avalanche safety. He loved rock climbing and mountaineering, hang gliding, caving, birding and competitive shooting.
Ken is survived by sons, Daniel Kenneth and Robert Evans; grandson Avery Zappa Keeling; and grandsons Tucker Shane, Evan James, and Hayden Sage Keeling. Sorely missed by family and friends, he died with dignity on May 27, 2008.