John Robert 'Bud' Keyes

DEFOREST/MONONA-John Robert “Bud” Keyes, age 95, passed away peacefully on Tuesday, July 30, 2013. He was born on April 20, 1918, on the family farm in Shullsburg, the son of Levi Daniel and Mary Jane (O’Brien) Keyes. He was known to his family as “Bud”, a nickname his mother called him as he helped around the farm. John was a warm and loving man and, true to his Irish heritage, always ready with a joke or a story to tell. After receiving his teaching degree from the UW-Platteville he returned to Shullsburg to teach at a one room school house. While boarding in Sioux Falls, he met Em Preslicka, who was teaching the GI’s at the Air base. John went off to war in 1942, and spent most of that time in the Philippines. Taking his guitar overseas with him, he sang to and comforted so many GI’s with his songs of home. John was on the Badger Honor Flight in 2011, thrilled to be honored for his service and receive the “Welcome Home” he and most of the men he served with never got. After returning from the war, he married the love of his life, Emma Preslicka, on Aug. 2, 1947, and together they raised four children. John and Emma spent 58 happy years together until her death in 2006. John was a teacher in Monona for many years until his retirement in 1980. John and Emma were lucky enough to take many wonderful trips after their retirement, including a “second honeymoon” trip to Hawaii for their 50th wedding anniversary. He was a devoted, longtime member of Immaculate Heart of Mary Church. John is survived by his four children, Diana Keyes, Gary (Terri), Debby (Bob) Corliss, and Jeff (Mary); three sisters, Lois Goc, Regina Keyes and Anna Vosberg; sisters-in-law, Elsie McGhee and Evelyn Anderson; grandchildren, Sunshine (Steve), Rainbow (Xan), Sky, Nightsnow (Melissa), StarRose, Greg (Kelsey), Jackie, Jessica, and Julia; great-grandchildren, Xavier and Isis; and many friends and former students who have kept in contact throughout the years. He was preceded in death by his loving wife, Emma; his parents; four brothers, Eugene, Arthur, Joseph, and Daniel; and a sister, Loraine Aurit. A Mass of Christian Burial will be held at IMMACULATE HEART OF MARY CATHOLIC CHURCH, 5101 Schofield St., Monona, at 12:30 p.m. on Saturday, Aug. 3, 2013, with Father John Silva presiding. Entombment will be at Roselawn Memorial Park with military rites being conducted by Madison Area Veterans Firing Squad. Visitation will be held at the church from 10:30 a.m. until the time of Mass on Saturday. Dad was a loving and gentle father, teacher and friend to all who met him. His deep and constant faith was an inspiration to all who knew him. He loved nature and spent many hours watching the birds on his feeder just outside his window. The last five years of his life were spent surrounded by his loving caretakers and fellow residents at Raymond House Assisted Living in DeForest. They cared for him as they would their own loved one. Thank you to Shelby, Netty, Dianna, Matilda, Velda, Charlette, Yacouba, Mate, and Joe, Ruth and family. Thank you to the entire staff of Agrace HospiceCare for their kind and loving care of dad and our family. Thank you to Dr. David Gronski for the many years of gentle and extraordinary care of dad and mom. In lieu of flowers, memorials may be made to the Badger Honor Flight. Dad, we will miss the way your eyes lit up and danced when you were about to tell us a story or joke. You have left a legacy in us of love, family ties, and never taking life too seriously. Online condolences may be made at www.gundersonfh.com. Gunderson East Funeral & Cremation Care 5203 Monona Drive (608) 221-5420 Visitation will be held at the church from 10:30 a.m. until the time of Mass on Saturday. A Mass of Christian Burial will be held at IMMACULATE HEART OF MARY CATHOLIC CHURCH, 5101 Schofield St., Monona, at 12:30 p.m. on Saturday, Aug. 3, 2013, with Father John Silva presiding.