Robert Lee (Bob) Keenan, 89, died on Wednesday, Nov. 26, 2025, in St. Elizabeth Common Spirit Hospital, Fort Morgan, from complications from a fall.

He was born at home on August 11, 1936, in the tiny town of Fonda, Iowa, the last of five children. His parents were Norine (Regan) and William Keenan. His mother told him he was the most challenging of the 5 to deliver, in their upstairs bedroom in that Iowa August heat. This early stubbornness would be a character trait of Bob's throughout his life.

In his early life, the family moved to Schaller, Iowa, where they bought and operated a restaurant. The family lived above the restaurant, and his parents were often occupied with starting and running the business.  This left young Bob with some unattended time, and when he was old enough to navigate the stairs, Bob became a sneaky visitor to the restaurant's candy case.  To stop the constant disappearance of the candy, his father locked the case by sticking pencils in the holes he drilled. As Bob grew taller, however, he stood on tiptoe and removed the pencils. He had a "sweet tooth" all his life, and that candy case is now in the Keenan's home, pencils and all!

Bob always had a very strong work ethic.  He started to work detasseling corn when he was 10 years old, for 65 cents an hour.  As a young man, he also stripped ripe blue grass of its seed. In August, he cut volunteer corn out of soybean fields.  He often spoke of just walking around the streets of Schaller as a youngster, helping old "characters' around town with any jobs they had.  He felt these men taught him so much with woodworking, plumbing, painting, and fixing just about anything.

When he was in high school, Bob worked as a carpenter's helper, remodeling the local popcorn plant for $1.00 an hour. This was a man's job and a man's wages, and he worked his way into a $1.25 an hour job working at the lumberyard, during weekends and in the summer. Later, he learned basic construction skills, helping to build barns and houses, skills and knowledge he would use the rest of his life.

He was an outstanding athlete in his small high school, playing football, basketball, track, and baseball. His Little League baseball team went to state several times, and he was a state track winner. He was an altar boy and very active in the local Catholic Church.  Bob, who had difficulty reading and writing due to undiagnosed dyslexia, found that academic classes were difficult, but, after graduating from high school in 1954, he attended the University of Iowa for his freshman year.  He found that he was unprepared for the university experience.  The difficult classes, the large campus, and the distance from home led him to transfer to Buena Vista College in Storm Lake, Iowa.  There he played baseball, could live at home, and work.  His fines for not attending the required chapel time threatened his graduation, but in 1958, he graduated with a teaching degree in science, social studies, and math, and he planned to coach.

His college advisor told Bob, as he began to apply for teaching positions, that being a Catholic was often a detriment in many small towns; since the application forms required an answer for religion, to write "First Christian Church."

Shortly after graduation, he went on an "adventure" with a friend to Greeley, Colorado in the hopes of finding a job.  While taking some classes at UNC, he met and later married Barbara Goetz. They raised three daughters—Gina Keenan-Heepke, Michelle Keenan-Harte, and Alexandra Keenan.

Bob and Barb's teaching jobs led them back to Schaller, IA, where Bob not only taught science and history, but also coached girls and boys basketball, football, track, baseball, and started a golf team.  In 1960, he led his boys basketball team to the Iowa State Championships.

In 1964, the family moved to Ft. Morgan, where Bob taught science in junior high/middle school, high school, and coached as well.  He oversaw the FMJH Conservation Club and talked about water and soil conservation, focusing on reusing and recycling, long before it was a topic. Bob was an excellent teacher who made science understandable and entertaining. Because, in his early school years, he had difficulty reading and writing, he was particularly understanding of students who had academic difficulties. If they were willing to try their best, he was there to help them.

Bob's work ethic and carpentry skills led him to buy old houses and renovate them. At first, his crew was his wife and daughters.  Later, he hired men who needed work, and patiently, he trained them and encouraged them in their life choices.  He also remodeled his own home, his daughter's homes and offices, and became an enthusiastic gardener.

He retired from teaching in 1994 and began a second career, buying and renovating rental homes. He loved to travel, both in the United States and in the United Kingdom, and in many European countries. He and Barbara loved history, storytelling, visiting gardens, museums, historical buildings and sites, music, art, and architecture. They enjoyed meeting people and learning about new cultures. Their daughters claimed family trips were just classrooms in a car.

Even in his later years, when health issues prohibited him from physically travelling, he loved listening to audiobooks and TV travelogues. He, even up until the end, hoped he could again have more travel experiences.

Bob was extremely active in the Fort Morgan Community. He volunteered as a flag football coach, assisted his daughter Alix in coaching pee-wee basketball.  He was a dedicated Elk and Evening Optimist. He drove people to out-of-town cancer treatments and delivered Meals on Wheels for several years. He served on the Fort Morgan Library Board and was an enthusiastic museum volunteer.

And even after retirement, his love of teaching didn't end.  He tutored boys who were suspended but needed to be caught up when they returned to school. He was the go-to carpenter, gardener, and "Ask This Old Bob" expert, generous with his time, his talent, and his tools.

Bob's later years were plagued by serious health issues, which narrowed his daily life choices. In spite of his limitations, he still loved sports, science, documentaries, politics, TV shows like Judge Judy (vigorously giving her advice from his chair), and a variety of PBS shows. He admired Queen Elizabeth and thought her observation reflected his life experience:  "We are all visitors to this time, this place. We are just passing through. Our purpose here is to observe, to learn, to grow, to love, and then return home."

Bob believed in the underdog and felt that lifting others up, no matter their situation, was the right thing to do, just as others had done for him.

Left to mourn him are his wife, Barbara, his daughters Michelle Keenan-Harte (Michael), Alexandra Keenan (Dan Nason), his grandchildren Maxfield Heepke (Jenn), Isabella Heepke-Laws (Ray), Grace Breneman, Kendra Breneman, Will Keenan-Harte, Lilli Keenan-Harte, his great-grandchildren Theo Laws, Eloise Laws, Louis Heepke, his niece Kathy (Goetz) Hoskins, nephew Allan Goetz, his sister Joan (Dick) Evans, and numerous nieces and nephews, and his fur babies Bailey, Gatsby, and Daisy.

Welcoming him "home" are his daughter, Gina Keenan-Heepke; his sister Rose Keenan-Gard, his brothers Bill Keenan and John Keenan; his favorite cousin, Kathryn Halpin; and his beloved furry family—Rosie, Butterscotch, Hobo, Lady, Jolie, and Mac.

A celebration of Bob's life will be held on January 16, 2026, at 10:30 AM at the United Methodist Church in Fort Morgan, CO.

Bob's service can be viewed by clicking the link below:

https://view.oneroomstreaming.com/index.php?data=MTc2ODQxNjYxMjM5Njk3NyZvbmVyb29tLWFkbWluJmNvcHlfbGluaw==

Donations can be made to:

Fort Morgan Humane Society

Rising Up

Colorado Talking Book Library