Richard Ellsworth Keeney ’42

Dick, a lifelong resident of Gardner, Mass., died of a stroke Jan. 1, 2006. He prepared for Princeton at Gardner High School and Mount Hermon School. At Princeton he majored in economics.

During World War II Dick was a staff sergeant stationed in England with the 8th Army Air Force. His main duties involved maintenance and installation of top-secret bombsights. After the war he joined Gardner Savings Bank. On Oct. 15, 1949, he married Norma S. Pederson. They had two children, John A. and Catherine E. Dick spent his entire career with Gardner Savings, where he instituted NOW (negotiated order withdrawal) accounts, which allowed drafts to be written against interest-bearing savings accounts. He rose to become a vice president.

On the Sundays of the seasonal time changes, he reset the bank’s clocks, with John tagging along! Every year he took time off for a family vacation in Marion, Mass., of which John has fond memories.

Dick retired in 1979 at age 62 to enjoy his family and his avocations — reading about history, studying foreign languages, and keeping up on current events. He was a passionate Red Sox fan.

The class mourns, along with Dick’s family, the loss of a man of honesty and integrity.