Remembering Ron Keith
Emporia State University
Thursday, August 30, 2007
Some days, Amy Sage Webb couldn’t turn around without running into Ron Keith.
“You’d see him everywhere,” said Webb, an associate professor of English at ESU. “Sporting events, alumni events, concerts, community events. He loved finding out what people did.”
Webb recently reflected on the friendship that she and others in the Emporia community had enjoyed with Keith, an ESU physics professor who died Friday at age 55.
Webb remembered Keith’s message to ESU faculty in his role as president of the faculty senate.
“He told us to be good to each other, to find out, care about and value what our colleagues do, even if it’s not something we do,” she said.
The faculty senate recently passed a resolution commending Keith for his service and leadership to the faculty of Emporia State. The resolution specifically noted Keith’s representation at meetings of the Kansas Board of Regents, and regular attendance at events within and outside the university.
Keith was in charge of ESU’s Peterson Planetarium, and Webb recalled numerous star-viewing events that he organized. He also forged strong ties with Emporia State’s exchange students from China. Webb said Keith traveled to China twice to meet with the students.
“They used to call him ‘Big Uncle,’” she said, noting that some of the students were at Keith’s bedside regularly, until the day before he died.
Away from the classroom, Keith’s prowess in the kitchen was well-known.
“Ron was a gourmet cook, and he’d have his parties at Melanie and Chuck Pheatt’s house, because their kitchen was amazing,” said Webb. That love of culinary skills led Keith and other Emporia State colleagues to publish a cookbook a few years ago.
As Keith’s health began to decline this summer, an outpouring of campus and community support arose. Webb and other colleagues, including mathematics professor Marvin Harrell and biology professor Dwight Moore, found themselves having to organize it all.
“So many people cared about him that it was almost a balancing act of making sure that everyone who wanted to do something for Ron had that chance,” Webb remarked. “It was just something we did as friends.”
Memorial services are being planned in Emporia and Minneapolis, Minn., near where Keith grew up. In honor of his wishes, a funeral will not be held.
The Ronald Loren Keith scholarship has been created in Keith’s memory to benefit students studying physics education at Emporia State. Donations may be made through the ESU Foundation.