Betty Lou Keck

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Category: Obituaries

Created on Tuesday, 23 September 2014 09:23

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Betty Lou Keck, a long-time Sitka resident, died on Saturday surrounded by loving family and friends.
Services will be held 5 p.m. Sunday, September 14, at Harrigan Centennial Hall.
Pastor Chuck Haskins of the Nazarene Church will officiate.
Betty was born on April 13, 1932, in Japton, Arkansas, to Ruth and George Neal. When she was a teenager, the family left Arkansas and moved to the west coast, settling in Pateros, Washington. She graduated from Pateros High School.
She met Dan Keck the summer of 1948 at a baseball game, and they were married on September 1, 1950, in Pateros. She and Dan recently celebrated their 64th anniversary.
In 1960 Dan and Betty moved, along with their two daughters, to Sitka, where they went to work for Alaska Lumber and Pulp Co.
The story is that when the Grumman Goose landed at the seaplane turnaround on Katlian Street, Betty looked around and said, “Well, I can stand anything for a year.”
Betty worked at the ALP commissary and later in the payroll office. In 1974, she found her true vocation when she and Dan bought The Cellar, a children’s store. They ran and expanded the business over the next 20 years. Betty thrived on the challenge of being an entrepreneur. She enjoyed her relationship with customers, and employees became part of the family.
Dan and Betty also have a home and good friends at Sunland Village East in Mesa, Arizona, and have spent their winters in Arizona for the past 15 years.
It was important to Betty to be involved in the community. She was a founding member of Sweet Adelines, and active in the Chamber of Commerce, Sitka Community Hospital Foundation, and Arts Southeast Board.
She sold many a daffodil for the Cancer Society, and raised money for the first decorative banners to fly downtown.
Dan served as mayor for several years, and Betty was a warm and friendly presence at civic events.
Betty is survived by her husband Dan; daughters and sons-in-law Jan  Keck Love and Bob Love of Sitka, and Judy Keck Walsh and Tom Walsh of Soldotna; sister Nina Davis of Wenatchee, Washington; grandsons Matt (Diana) Love and Evan Love, of Sitka; nephews Wade (Kathlynn) Neal of Tacoma, Washington, and Jeff (Kelly) Sinclair, of Sherwood, Oregon; and two great-granddaughters, Ema and Eva Love.
She is also survived by many other loving relatives and friends.
Donations in Betty’s memory may be made to Sitka Fine Arts Camp or a favorite charity.

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