Eugene Francis Keefner

Eugene Francis Keefner July 14, 1921- July 18, 2018

Eugene Francis Keefner died peacefully just four days after his 97th birthday. He is survived by his 7 children: Jean, Yvonnne, Marie, Paula, Paul, John and Christine, and 63 grandchildren.

Gene was born in Detroit, Michigan in 1921 and raised by his mother Clara. Lying about his age, Gene joined the Navy in 1939 when he was just 17 years old. He served in WWII aboard the USS San Juan with his best friend and shipmate, George Mendonsa - the sailor featured in the iconic Times Square photo of the sailor kissing the nurse. Eugene married Cecile Caron in 1945, whom he was with for 45 years until her passing in 1990.

After his time in the service, he had several jobs - so many that his own children are still discovering them! He found his passion and talent in engineering though. He began his career working at power plants as a steam engineer. He spent time at JPL, working on the Ranger moon missions - creating key components that allowed NASA to take the first close-up photos of the moon. Gene went back to school with his daughter Marie, graduating high school with her in 1968. He acquired several engineering degrees, without ever attending a formal college, worked at Douglas Aircraft and later started several of his own companies including PFT Alexander, which his son John purchased and continues to run to this day.

With all of these accomplishments, Gene was most proud of his large and loving family - with over 97 members!