June 1, 1928 – Jan. 19, 2018
Ruth Naydean Keene, 89, of Sweet Home (formerly of Toledo), died Jan. 19, 2018 at Samaritan Lebanon Community Hospital.
She was born June 1, 1928 in Sapulpa, Okla. to Gipson Dale and Lola Mae (Casey) Whisenhunt.
She was the fifth and last surviving of nine children (three brothers and five sisters). She and her siblings grew up in Lindale and the Tyler, Texas area.
She married World War II veteran, Kenneth Howard Keene in Tyler, Texas, on Feb. 1, 1946, when she was 17 years old. After the wedding, she moved to her husband’s home in Toledo, Ore. Their 63 years of wedded bliss produced two children, Richard Dale and Gail Ann.
Mrs. Keene enjoyed gardening, doing puzzles, and playing cards with her friends. She loved to crochet, continuing to do so even when her eyesight was failing.
She is survived by her son Richard and his wife Deanna of Sweet Home; five grandchildren; and five great-grandchildren.
Mrs. Keene was preceded in death by her husband, Kenneth Howard Keene; daughter Gail Ann; her parents; three brothers, Louie, Herman and Hoyt; and five sisters, Virgie, Barbara, Lenora, Jessie and Maureene.
Sweet Home Funeral Chapel is handling the arrangements.