Obituary

Arnold R. Keaton

Arnold Roy Keaton, of Glasgow, passed away peacefully at home Sunday, July 26, 2009, in the company of family after battling pulmonary fibrosis. He was 61-years-old.

Born on July 3, 1948, in Hotchkiss, W.Va., Arnold was the son of the late Roy and Irma Cook Keaton. He grew up in Jumping Branch and lived in Beckley.

He served his country in the U.S. Air Force and worked as a Professional Engineer for Cannelton Coal Company as well as the State of West Virginia Bureau for Public Health.

He was an avid hunter and fisherman, enjoyed crossword puzzles, cryptograms, bluegrass music, Civil War research, genealogy, and Scrabble and collected antique mining paraphernalia.

Surviving Arnold are his wife, Rita Bower Keaton; his brothers, Wayne Russell Keaton and his wife, Linda, of Beckley, Daniel Raymond Keaton and his wife, Beth, of Beckley and Daniel’s mother, Shirley Keaton of White Oak; his sister, Joyce Elaine Keaton of Beckley; his three daughters, Martha Keaton Mills and her husband, Brad, of Charleston, Melissa Jane Keaton and fiancé, Chet Horton, of Charleston and Jessica Michelle Keaton and fiancé, Charlie Carl, of Charleston; two grandchildren, Katie and Andrew Mills; and his lifelong best friend, Jim Alderson.

Visitation will be held Thursday, July 30, 2009, from 6 to 9 p.m. at the Rose and Quesenberry Funeral Home in Beckley. Funeral services will be held at 1 p.m. on Friday, July 31, at Rose and Quesenberry in Beckley, officiated by the Rev. Dale Birchfield and assisted by Pastor James D. Fox. Burial will follow at the Lilly-Crews Cemetery at Nimitz, W.Va.

Pallbearers will be Lonnie Harvey, Bobby Cannon II, John Cannon, Ronnie Murdock, Ricky Young and Russell Keaton. Honorary pallbearers will be Carl Hackworth, Johnny Pack, Bobby Cannon, Bobby Mullins, Jim Alderson and Joe Overbay.

In lieu of flowers, the family requests that donations be made to either the American Diabetes Association or the Pulmonary Fibrosis Foundation. The family also requests that you consider becoming an organ donor.