David Dean Keyes - Submitted for the USGenWeb by Richard P. Sevier 8/20/2020
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David Dean Keyes Madison Parish, LA

From Knoxville (TN) News-Sentinel December 17, 2002

Services for David Dean Keyes, age 43, will be held at the Kilpatrick Funeral Home Chapel in West Monroe on Tuesday, December 17, 2002. Dr. Greg Clark, Pastor of Cedar Crest Baptist Church in West Monroe, will officiate. He will be assisted by Reverend John Wells, Minister of Music at Cedar Crest Baptist Church. Interment will be at Memorial Park Cemetery in Tallulah. Reverend John Rushing, Pastor of First Baptist Church in Tallulah will assist in graveside services.

At the time of his death, December 14, 2002, David was a resident of Seymour, Tennessee and was employed as the Director of Corporate Training for Victory Automotive Group, with headquarters in Morristown, Tenn. David recruited hired, and trained sales personnel for the multiple dealerships of the organization in the Midwest and northeast portions of the U.S.

David was preceded in death by his brother, Dwayne his paternal grandfather, H.S. Keyes and his maternal grandparents, Raymond and Josephine (Mama Jo) Pryor.

David is survived by his wife, Ginger Massey Keyes, Seymour, Tenn.; his daughter, Victoria Noelle; his parents, Billy (Colonel, U.S. Army, Retired) and Bobbye Keyes, West Monroe; sister, Tami J. Stagg and husband, Dr. Daniel P. Stagg, III, Beaumont, TX; niece, Hannah Stagg; nephew, Daniel P. Stagg, IV; grandmother, Bertha L. Keyes, Tallulah; aunt and uncle, Shirley and Frank Wilson, Tallulah; uncle and aunt, Raymond and Linda Pryor, Tallulah; first cousins, Paul and Greg Wilson, Tallulah; first cousin, Raymond (Trey) Pryor and wife Marissa, Houston, TX; father in law and mother in law, Terry and Thelma Massey, West Monroe brother in law, Greg Massey and wife, Teresa, West Monroe sister in law, Dana Massey, West Monroe; and a host of other relatives and friends.

He was born into a military family at William Beaumont Army Hospital in El Paso, Texas, on November 19, 1959. During David's 20 plus years as the son of an Army family (commonly referred to as an Army brat), he experienced the numerous relocations associated with military service. His fondest memories of his life as an Army brat were no doubt the eight years his family was stabilized at Ft. Benjamin Harrison, Indiana, in Indianapolis. There he established life long friends amongst the youngsters who resided on "Colonel's Row". In 1993, some 15 years after leaving Ft. Benjamin Harrison, he planned and coordinated a reunion of the "Colonel's Row" gang, his teenage pals and friends. It was an emotional and memorable event. David was delighted that so many of the gang gathered one last time from their various locations across the U.S.

In 1980 while living at Ft. Benjamin Harrison, David experienced the greatest tragedy of his life when Dwayne, his brother and dearest friend, was killed in a tragic car wreck. This was a devastating experience for David. The feelings and sense of loss from this accident stayed with him the balance of his life. David accepted Jesus Christ as his Lord and Savior in 1980 and was baptized at Broadway Baptist Church in Indianapolis. Prior to relocating to Seymour, Tennessee, he and his wife, Ginger, were members of Cedar Crest Baptist Church in West Monroe. At the time of his death he was a member of Sevier Heights Baptist Church in Knoxville, Tennessee.

David graduated from Northeast Louisiana University (NLU) in 1988 with a degree in Psychology. While at NLU he participated in the ROTC program advancing to the rank of Cadet Major and was assigned to the key position of Operations and Training Officer. While a cadet, he completed qualification as a U.S. Army paratrooper at the Ft. Benning, Georgia, Airborne School. He was commissioned as a Second Lieutenant in the U.S. Army simultaneously with his graduation and subsequently served three years in the U.S. Army Reserves. His officer training included the Basic Infantry Officer Course at Ft. Benning, Georgia. Following graduation from NLU, David entered into the automobile sales business. He was associated initially with the John Decker Nissan/Mercedes Dealership in Monroe. Later, he transferred to the Hixson-Hopkins Autoplex where he worked for a number of years. While there he advanced to the position of Import Sales manager for the Volvo and BMW vehicles. In 1985, David met and began dating Ginger Massey. Ginger, a life long resident of West Monroe, was indeed the great love of David's life. Their relationship culminated in marriage on October 7, 1989. He and Ginger were blessed on December 31, 1998, with the birth of their daughter, Victoria Noelle. He regarded Victoria's birth as one of the greatest events of his life and was at his proudest when he referred to himself as "Victoria's Dad". One of the greatest sadnesses of David's disease was his gradual inability to play with her. In late 1999, David responded to an opportunity offered by the Victory Automotive Group, with headquarters in Morristown, Tennessee, for a position as the Director of Corporate Training for the multi-dealership organization. When he was interviewed and accepted for the position, it was the fulfillment of a dream for him. In this position he worked directly for Mr. Jeffrey Cappo, the founder and owner of the organization, and had the direct responsibility for recruiting, hiring, and training sales personnel in overall system operations. Jeffery credits David's training skills, leadership and hard work as significant factors in the substantial enhancement of sales experienced by the various dealerships during his tenure. In Jeffrey, David found a trusted and loyal friend. Thanks to Jeffrey's unparalleled compassion, support, and generosity, David and his family experienced many special activities in the last one and a half years of his life. No employee could ever receive more support and encouragement than that provided by Jeff. When David was diagnosed with colorectal cancer in April 2001, he was advised that his condition was terminal and there was nothing on the medical shelf that could cure him. As he assessed this devastating news, his comment was, "And I had just begun to soar". That was how he viewed his job with Victory Automotive Group. He continued his work with the organization to the extent he could for the balance of his life.

David was the family historian and a prolific and profound writer. Over the years, he complied more than 30 volumes of memories detailing his life and that of the family. These books of memory are a lasting testimony to the love he gave and received over the years. As we face the days ahead without David our hearts are heavy. But he will not be far away. He will be at our side as we live our lives. Through our memories, we will have his smile, exuberance, loyalty, great love of family and country and many other precious thoughts. We can rejoice in the fact that he is now free from the suffering and pain that was prevalent in the last year and half of his life. We thank God for the 43 years that we had with him and we will cherish forever the memories and the love that we shared. The family is most appreciative of the many prayers and the outpouring of love and support received from relatives and friends across the nation. Your compassion and support sustained us through the depths of despair.

The pallbearers are Marty Payton, Dwayne Saterfiel, Richard Brasseaux, Takahiro Kuroda (a personal family friend from Japan), and two members of the Colonel's Row Gang, Michael Kosiba and Richard Brooks. Honorary pallbearers are his dear friend, Mr. Jeffrey Cappo and the management staff associated with Victory Automotive Group.

David's final words to the sales force would be, "Let's Rock", as they continue to pursue their mission. Visitation will be from 5:00 to 9:00 p.m. on Monday, December 16, 2002 at Kilpatrick Funeral Home in West Monroe and from 9:00 to 10:00 a.m. Tuesday, December 17, preceding the funeral service.