January 8, 1938 – February 19, 2023
Bill Keefe of Reading passed away on February 19, 2023, at the age of 85.
For 60 years, he was married to the love of his life Judy. He loved his wife, his daughter Pam and her husband Steve, his sons Bill and Brian and his wife Lori very much. And he loved and treasured his grandchildren Amelia, Emily, Jack, Emma and Colby.
He will be missed forever.
But this is not a time to mourn. No. This is a time to celebrate a man who the day after he retired from The Reading Police Department in 1998 after 37 years at the rank of Sergeant Detective… told his family “My life turned out much, much better than I ever thought it would”. And that was before he began his 15-year, successful second career as a local Real Estate agent… and traveled to one tropical island after another.
“Places that as a kid I didn’t know existed”… is what he would say every time he traveled. Always with his “Bride,” Bill Keefe would travel. Even if ‘the trip’ was just to the grocery store or out to lunch or dinner or to get an ice cream cone. They truly cherished their time together.
It’s a funny thing, those who knew him… knew that there were few things that he liked to see more than “people eating good.” It made him very happy to bring a meal or two (sometimes a lot more than that) to people who lived alone. One elderly gentleman would call him his ‘Guardian Angel’.
When the pandemic hit… he hit the phone checking in on people. Like clockwork, every day he made his calls to his friends to make sure everyone was “OK”. Those calls will be missed too.
He lived to the age of 85 and we all wish we had a lot more time with him to be sure. But don’t be sad today, because he would say over and over again… “I never thought I would live this long. I really have a lot to be grateful for”. No Dad. We are the ones who are grateful for our time with you.
A visitation will be held for Bill at the Douglass, Edgerley & Bessom Funeral Home 25 Sanborn St (corner of Woburn St.) in Reading on Tuesday February 28 from 4-7 pm. Funeral services and burial are private.
