John Keenan Obituary

Jack,
Thank you for teaching me how to ride a bicycle on two wheels, and the reason for 'not' feeding the squirrels by hand, while sitting on the steps of your front porch in Syracuse.
Love, your niece Jeannie
[Aub
urn, NY]

This is John Knapp, Jack Keenan's grandson. I'm proudly named after my grandfather, so in a sense I'm a walking memorial to him--not exactly a marble statue or a gaudy monument, but, like Jack, I'm easier to talk to than either of those, and far less pretentious! My grandfather experienced the full range of pains and pleasures in his long, eventful, and meaningful life--he wrote an autobiography with the characteristically understated title "Life's Ups and Downs"--and he made it through many very difficult times with his quick and warm sense of humor fully intact. I'm grateful that his affection for limericks and rhymes, for colorful language and expressions, music and movies, for beer, for not taking every waking hour too seriously, have all rubbed off on his family and show no signs of going away. (Indeed, my uncle Rich is one of the world's funniest people; and my unparalleled mom can make language do things it shouldn't be able to do. And they both like beer.) Grandpa lived by himself for years but was never alone; he had admirers from coast to coast. His happiest years by a long shot were the Auburn years, and even with his fading memory Auburn never deserted him. I'll be there when he goes back to Auburn for good, and I'll follow his example and smile while I'm there!