Elsie McKeithen's Obituary
Elsie Louise Roach McKeithen went home to Jesus on February 21, 2020, at age 94.
Elsie was born on December 2, 1925, in Manchester, Oklahoma, one of six children. She excelled in sports, especially baseball and softball, and was encouraged and supported by her family to go to college at Texas Wesleyan University. She later completed a master’s degree in education at University of North Texas and taught Physical Education at Fort Worth’s Polytechnic High School.
Elsie married the love of her life, Bill McKeithen, on December 19, 1954. They had two children, Timothy Edward and Amy Leah. Bill was an electrical engineer which led them to live in St. Louis, Atlanta, Houston, back to Fort Worth, and finally to Garland, Texas. In each city in which they lived, Bill and Elsie became part of a local Church of the Nazarene and served God in numerous capacities, in service and in leadership. Just a few months after an early celebration of their 50th Wedding Anniversary, Bill passed away.
In addition to being a loving wife, mother and grandmother, Elsie also loved everybody else. Throughout her entire life, she held an unwavering faith in God, which she shared with her neighbors, friends, family and church.
Elsie loved teaching and was a substitute teacher or teacher’s aide in elementary schools for many years. In her later years as a widow, she moved to Yuba City, California. For ten years she worked as a school crossing-guard at Tierra Buena School and volunteered at Barry School.
She was an active member of Hope Point Nazarene Church. The last several years she was under the loving care of the residents and staff of Emerald Oaks Senior Community.
Elsie is preceded in death by her husband Bill, her parents Ed and Winnie, and her sisters Elva, Thelma, Hazel and Ruby. She is survived by her brother, Richard, her children, Tim (Susan) and Amy; her grandchildren, Julie, Brandt, David (Keila), Caleb (Jenny); and her very-much-loved nieces and nephews, and a multitude of “adopted” children and grandchildren, whom she considered her own kids, too. If you knew Elsie, you knew two things: she loved God and she loved YOU!
Services will be held at Restland Cemetery, Dallas, Texas on March 7th at 12:30 at Wildwood Chapel. In lieu of flowers, Elsie requested that donations could be made to the Nazarene Global Missions at https://nazarene.org/wef .
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