Obituary of James Keister
James Wesley Keister of Beach Park, Illinois passed away on August 24, 2018 with his two sons at his side. Jim was born on April 6, 1943 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. He received his bachelor’s degree from Pennsylvania State University and his MBA from Lake Forest College. Jim married his high school sweetheart, Cynthia Keister (nee Aul), and was the proud father of sons James and Kevin. Jim and his wife Cindy were avid followers of the Penn State Nittany Lions football team, often traveling across the country in support. Jim loved to golf, frequently hitting the links with his wife Cindy at courses throughout the U.S., and several beautiful courses in other countries. Jim is survived by brothers Michael Keister of Apollo, Pennsylvania, and Wesley Keister of Casselberry, Florida, along with nephew Ken Keister of Orlando, Florida. Jim was preceded in death by his wife, Cindy Keister who passed away in August, 2018 shortly before his own death, and his mother, Lillian Keister and father, Wesley Keister.
Jim worked as a packaging engineer for American Can Co. in Maryland before accepting a transfer to Waukegan in 1971. He worked for American Can for most of his life until a workplace injury in 2000. He enjoyed traveling abroad with family and friends, visiting over 30 countries during his travels, noting Ireland, Norway and France as his favorites.
During the 2000s, Jim proudly served on the church council of St. Mark’s Lutheran Church. A memorial service will be held for Jim and his wife Cindy, who also passed away in August, at St. Mark's Lutheran Church in Waukegan, Illinois, on Saturday, October 6, at 2:00 p.m. The family requests that any memorials be made to St. Mark’s Lutheran Church or C.O.O.L Food Pantry in Waukegan, Illinois.
Morton Stanfield
My dad Jim was madly in love with his wife, Cindy (a Penn Hills HS alumna herself, class of '60) and as their child it was a privilege watching this 50+ year love affair play out. When my dad was diagnosed with Alzheimer's in 2012, my mother, despite her own newly diagnosed health issues (Breast Cancer) worked tirelessly to get my dad into clinical trials (he was in one that lasted for five years, and it slowed the disease progression remarkably) and to work with every tool at her disposal to keep his mind working, and to give him a wonderful quality life all the way to the very end. As it often goes, the "caregiver," my mother, ignored her own health concerns in favor of taking care of my dad, and even though you'd never know she was ill, in July, at the same time, both of their diseases accelerated so rapidly, that the end came for both in what seemed a blink of an eye. I hear this is not uncommon—one spouse passes away, and the other follows in a short window of time. They died within just over two weeks of one another. I lived in their home and helped to take care of both of them (mainly my father, though), and it was an honor to give them support and love and care in their time of need. I miss them terribly, every day.
Love, their devoted but heartbroken son, Jim, Jr. (51 of Chicago, Illinois).