Obituaries
There is a light that will never go out...
It is with deepest regret that we announce the following death:
Bro.Jerome Keohane died on Tuesday, October 6th. aged 102. (Was he the oldest member I wonder?) He died suddenly and peacefully with his daughter Eileen holding his hand on the way to Edinburgh Royal Infirmary after returning to his home after they had been for a drive.
Born in Butlerstown, Ireland, he had travelled to most places in the world as a wireless operator in the Merchant Navy. He was one of the pioneer radio operators at the Foynes flying boat base and was on duty for the arrival of the first trans-Atlantic Clipper flying boat. He transferred to the fledgling Shannon Airport and in the early 1940's took a post in Manchester with the Air Ministry; after WW2 he joined the Ministry of Labour as a Training Within Industry instructor.
He was a founder member of St. Joseph's Conference, Sale and became President. When the parish split in the 1960's he became founder and President of the Holy Family Conference. In his 90's he was still very active in the SVP and as a Catenian; he even drove around Lancashire and Cheshire giving pulpit appeals for Survive-Miva before retiring to move near to Eileen, one of his daughters, in 2004. A year later he published a book describing the first 18 years of his life in rural Co. Cork.
His persistence and encouragement persuaded me to join the SVP in 1978. It has been a great privilege to have known such a gentleman. His favourite saying at Meetings was "no work of charity is foreign to the Society!"