William Howard "Billy" Keach

William Howard "Billy" Keach 70, well-known sports enthusiast and resident of Oakwood Drive, died Sunday, August 7, 2011 at Maury Regional Medical Center. Graveside services will be conducted Monday at 11:00 a.m. at Rose Hill Cemetery with Charles Troope officiating. The family will visit with friends at graveside. Notes of sympathy may be sent to www.oakesandnichols.com. Born in Bessemer, Michigan, he was the son of the late Milton Keach and Katherine Howard Keach. A friend to everyone, Mr. Keach never complained despite the ailments he dealt with most of his life, but always showed concern for others. Mr. Keach attended McDowell Elementary School and then Whitthorne Junior High School where he served as the football manager for Coach Mac Peebles and the basketball manager for Coach Wallace Dillard. He received his eighth grade diploma from Columbia Military Academy. He attended Webb School in Bell Buckle before returning to public school at Columbia Central High School. Upon moving to Baldwin, Missouri, he graduated from the American School. He worked in St. Louis in the storeroom for Styx, Baer and Fuller Department Stores. Upon returning to Columbia in 1970, he worked as a deliveryman for Skelton Furniture Store. Mr. Keach worked for 16 years at Maury Manufacturing in Columbia, before working another 23 years at Southeastern Shirt Factory in Mt. Pleasant where he retired in 2003. He was honored at Southeastern by the ownership and his boss, Tammy Brooks, for never being late to work or missing a day of work. Since then he spent many days at the Maury County Senior Citizens Center where he enjoyed being with his friends. Because of his dedicated loyalty to the Maury County Arts Guild, Mr. Keach was honored with a free lifetime membership. He faithfully attended all of the plays and many of their special events, never missing one until the most recent fundraiser. Mr. Keach, however, will be most remembered as the man alongside Daily Herald sports editor Marion Wilhoite. They attended countless numbers of sporting events and music concerts for over 40 years. Billy not only drove Wilhoite and his staff to the games, he always "stepped up to the plate" to either take pictures, keep statistics and to make sure the staff was back to the office to meet their deadlines. The exploits of Wilhoite and his staff were published in a Sports Illustrated article published in 1986, and in a 2009 DVD of 50 Years of Columbia Sports, which would not have been possible without the dedicated efforts of Bill. When Wilhoite coached the Columbia State Community College softball team, Billy served as equipment manager and photographer. Billy was a special friend to the "Lady Chargers" as he made sure they had their chewing gum, Gatorade, etc. Billy also did a lot of that for the many men, women's, and youth recreational teams Wilhoite coached. Their travels, which also included many collegiate and professional sporting events, resulted in Mr. Keach driving him to the states of Florida, Georgia, Alabama, Missouri, Kansas, Kentucky, and Illinois among others. After his retirements, he still attended Columbia Central and Columbia State sporting events and shared time with his friends at the Columbia State basketball lounge and the Central High family football tailgate. Mr. Keach was a member of the First Presbyterian Church and also attended Grace Church of the Nazarene with the Wilhoites for the last 12 years. Billy's special friends include Julie Hood, who was a special help at Harris Foodland and at Central games, Brenda West, who helped make sure his car was serviced properly at Sloan Ford, and the Hatcher Lane Branch of Bank of America employees. He is survived by his sister Kathy Keach (Julian) Allen of Oxford, Mississippi; and nieces, Kimberly K. Allen, Katherine A. Beard, and Karen A. Blackburn; and five great-nieces and great-nephews. Oakes & Nichols Funeral Directors are assisting the family with arrangements.