James Derril Keep's Obituary
James Darrell Keep, 97, passed away Sunday, January 7, of natural causes in Portland, Oregon. Jim was born June 22,1926 to Walter and Pauline Keep in Portland Oregon, the youngest of 2 sons.
Jim and his older brother were raised well by loving parents who guided the family through the hardships of the Great Depression. At the young age of 16 with plenty of knowledge in carpentry and repair work, Jim left school at a young age, which was common in those years and started working. He first worked in the Port-land Shipyards and became a welder. In 1944 at age 17, Jim enlisted in the US Navy while World War 2 was still raging. During the war he was stationed in Hawaii and afterward stationed in China and Japan as part of the occupation force. After an Honorable Discharge from active duty in 1947 he was in the Reserves and stationed in San Diego. Just a few years later, Jim returned to active duty in June of 1951 and served on the USS Boxer aircraft carrier in the Korean War. After returning to Portland, he went to business school on the GI bill. In 1948, he married Bessie “Joy” Eberting and together they had four sons. They raised their sons on a beautiful homestead on Central Point Road in Oregon City, the boys have great memories of growing up there and how hard their parents worked. The house had one bathroom and four boys, probably enough said about the patience of their parents. Jim became a Chevron dealer and operated it until 1959 when he and Joy purchased an E.K.Williams bookkeeping franchise for service stations. It was first located on Powell Boulevard in Portland, later the couple purchased a commercial building located at 54th and Foster. It is a beautiful older brick building that is still home to the successful business they both worked hard to build and is still thriving today, more than 60 years later. Life brings hardships and Jim and Joy experienced the devastating loss of their second son Jon at the young age of 19. It was traumatic on the entire family; all were impacted by it and their lives changed.
In later years as a single guy around age 50, Jim loved to dance and even won second place in a competition in Canada. During that time, he met Helene, and they married in 1978. Jim and Helene were great dancers in their early years together and they enjoyed many happy years together. They loved family, friends, being involved in their church, having horses and traveling. And of course, Jim loved heirloom tomatoes raised in their bountiful garden each year. Jim loved to play blackjack, he studied it and took it very seriously, he was always eager to share strategies with anyone that would listen. Jim and Helene created a beautiful home and landscaped area on their Carus Road property, in fact Jim lived there until February of 2023 when he moved to Cedar Senior Living in Oak Grove Oregon. They lived together on the property and had been married 44 years when Helene passed away in December of 2021.
Jim was a really great storyteller and he loved to share stories about his childhood, his time in the military, and so many other times throughout his life. His sons have heard many of the story's multiple times, yet it was always fun to watch Jim share them. He had a genuine laugh and got a lot of enjoyment sharing his memories with great detail. There have been many stories recalled this week and it’s hard to pick which to share, one Jim enjoyed telling was a challenge he got during his time in San Diego on active duty in the Navy. In a shooting gallery he ran across some Marines and was challenged to see who was the best sharpshooter. Jim agreed to the dare but said “I’m going to shoot from the hip”. Needless to say, Jim’s favorite part of telling the story was the fact that he won! It’s actually quite remarkable how many stories he had and how well he articulated them. We have a great video of him on his 91st birthday in June of 2018 telling stories and laughing, you can’t help but smile while watching and listening to him. We are all thankful God gave him many years with his family, he was loved by all and will be greatly missed.
Jim was survived by three sons and their wives, Jim and Kay, Jay & Denise, and Jan & Tami; grandchildren, Merissa, Sam, Abbie, Hayden, Tricia, Ryan, and Lizzie; 9 great grandchildren and 1 on the way; nieces Nancy, Carolyn, & MaryLou. Jim was preceded in death by his wife Helene, his son Jon, his parents, and his brother George.
Jim was interned at Willamette National Cemetery next to his wife Helene.
The family has sincere gratitude for the wonderful people and care he received at Cedar Senior Living in Oak Grove Oregon.
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