First heard this from my Dad & then from Keary. I talked to my Dad & brother Chris last night (they now live on a lake in West Central MN near our hometown) to confirm some details.

Here it is.

In 1980, Keary had to make a lot of money in a hurry so returned to Houston from Wausau. My brother Chris got Keary a job working the midnight shift at Kirkwood Shell. On my way to work, my dad,  Don Heath, stopped by such station and paid the clerk (Keary) - remember in those days no pay at the pump. Keary was just finishing his shift & asked my dad for a ride to his next job which was located on Brittmore.

Now Brittmore is a very long road that is probably almost 2 miles from Kirkwood Shell. Keary would have to either walk (since I believe he totaled his Corolla by then) or hitchhike (aside - Keary & I hitchhiked a lot back in those days - probably several really good chapter of stories could be written). 

You had to know Keary - he was an extremely hard worker. He often said to people who couldn't or wouldn't find a job that he could start walking up and down Brittmore, get a job that day & begin working same day. Brittmore was (is) heavily industrialized with many blue collar factories & shops. 

And he had done just that - Chris remembers the company was FMC.

If that wasn't enough pulling 2 full-time shifts, that very evening my parents went to Panjo's pizza - a favorite pizza joint located on Memorial Drive near Dairy Ashford (& SW from Kirkwood Shell - maybe 2 miles away). Keary himself delivered the pizza to my parents - he was working a third shift in the same day! Chris remembers Keary telling him he worked 22 hours a day.

And back to Kirkwood Shell & repeat.

I was in school at Baylor then but my dad called me & told me this amazing story. Later I heard about it from Keary & we would talk about this from time to time - I'm sure even during the last 10 years.

Anyway - we had some good chuckles last night reminiscing about this & every time Keary would relive this.

Hi Kear Bear; 
  I want you to know you’re not just my brother you’re also my best friend, my confidant, my mentor, protector, my co conspirator and the love of my life. 
  You’ve always been there for me. Not just as kids growing up but as adults as we tried figuring out some of life’s challenges. You never let me wonder in the darkness alone. Always there for each other. 
  You’ve always asked me if remember things like bike rides to Bear Creek Park and the huge slide. 
   Of course I remember. I remember tons of fun things we did! Just tons!!! I remember when I was little in Wisconsin and I would wait for the bus to drop you off so we could make snow angels in the yard. How we all would roll snowballs up and down the hill out back with Simon in toe. When I thought monsters were under my bed, you started a new ritual of putting my lion pillow over your face and giving me candy as you claimed to be the “Boogie Man”. Usually salt water taffy. And how you let me sleep in your room if I was scared or sad. In Texas ,Sometimes we snuck out on the “ornamental “ balcony and looked at the stars with your telescope. You taught me all the constellations and we would make a game of it. One day  from your bedroom window you shot a bottle rocket off at the mailman. It blew up in the mail truck and boy he was mad as a hornet when he went to the front door to tell mom!!! While he mumbled Something about Federal offense…. Prison… yada yada. 
   One day during a hot summer you and I went with dad to the Oaks Utotum to get ice for their 4th of July block party and you asked me,”what do ya think dad would do if I toss the car keys in the trunk just as he closes it?” I said he’d probably be mad. Well mad wasn’t a strong enough word! We all had to walk home to get the extra set of keys. You said it’ll be funny years from now. Kinda is I guess. 
   I went with you and dad to drop you off at the gray hound station. I was really young and didn’t understand why you were going but cried so much as I begged you to stay. You promised you would be back someday and eventually you were but I would wait and wait until one day you finally came home. 
   We would go turtle and snake hunting at Addicks Dam. By the end of the summer I was running across the pipeline that crossed the river. When it would flood we’d strap the ol’ canoe to your VW bus and go to the hill and park on top and go canoeing all day through the tree tops. Water moccasins slithering the surface. 
   We’d go bottle hunting, riding “Double Duty Judy” on your banana seat schwinn till we had enough doe to get cheese puffs and strawberry nehi pops. Pretending to sneeze every time we went over a manhole. AwwwAwwwCHEW!
    You took me to Sam’s Deli Diner so many times it was like a second home. We would play pinball for hours! You had to make sure you had the top score and that Chris and Jeff Heath didn’t. Sometimes you would have to tip the machines at the laundromat as I got down there and scooped up the lost quarters. You would get me a corn dog and fries and an orange push up pop. We’d play Starland Vocal Band’s Afternoon Delight on the jukebox and an occasional Ricky Lee Jones Last Chance Texaco    I loved going to Sam’s!!!! You never excluded me from going with you whether it was a party with your friends or just to the store. You took me along. 
   Remember the platforms we all built in the acorn tree? And the basket ball games in the driveway? Or the time you jumped off our two story roof into the  pool? When you brought home the biggest red ear snapper we had all seen and were dancing around it like a Mexican hat dance and it bit your foot!! When you blew the bottom off my favorite pink cup with a fire cracker! What about breaking your collar bone playing street football with dad Pat!
how you taught me to go off the high dive at the neighborhood pool? I went from just jumping to doing triple gainers that summer! The times you put baking soda packs on my wasp stings. Crutcher? 
    I remember the first time I met Kathy in the dark hallway of our bedrooms. All I could see was her big eyes as she said “hi there “ I was so excited to meet her because it was like having a sister friend! y’all had that apartment in Sherwood Manor, it was my new hang out too. Then Jerry her brother came for a while and it was like having an extra brother. I’m thankful that Kathy and I are friends today 45 years later. I’m grateful for that and hope to be able to connect with our Jim in the near future too. 
    When I lived in Arcadia Ca. With mom and dad and y’all came and Pat and Sidona too, it was so much better! Chris came back ! It was so fun to all be together again. Swimming in the backyard, great parks for frisbee golf, getting to go to The Rose Parades together,hiking at Chanchree Flats, going to the beach, and you and Kathy. It didn’t all work out for y’all like we wished it would’ve. Y’all still know each other today. 
   When I was 18 I moved out to my friends and that didn’t work out so you and me got an apartment in Sherwood Oaks Ca. On 8/8/88. never forgot  the date! We would go fast food hopping on paydays. You showed me how people would toss out their cups and fries containers without pulling the tabs off and we would get so much free stuff!!! Like shakes and fries or breakfast sandwiches and an occasional Big Mac. That’s come in handy quite a few times in life along with my recycling expertise! Remember when we rode our bikes to the equestrian stables and rented horses for a couple hours. Mine took off running back to the stables pushing high speed into turns through the freeway tunnels and then across the L.A. river via a chain link and wood slat suspension bridge as it bounced several feet every time the horse would land. It was such a frightening experience and when your DUD of a horse finally made it back you said “ Wow you could be a stunt woman!” Then we rode our bikes to the L. A. Zoo to surprise mom while she was in the middle of giving a tour of the Bat House. That was funny! what a day! Remember dangling from your finger tips over the L. A. River at Gillagans Island. We were a bit tipsy riding around drinking wine coolers and beer. I used to be scared to go to the private parties I would get invited to so I would always ask you to go. I wasn’t the groupie type but I knew Guns and Roses and LA guns, etc. and you were always calm cool and collected when we’d go. Even in bad areas that I would never go to today! That’s for sure. 
   That time we went to the beach in that 40’ yacht of a car you had. I called “ The Mother Ship “. 
we listened to same Cars cassette tape all day and when we were leaving, you had to pee and didn’t realize that a girl was sitting in the back seat of a car and you came running back in a rush to get out of there saying “She saw everything!” I remember that time we were so broke and found a $5 bill outside the grocery store and we bought a saint Patrick’s day green clover cake with it. Man it was so good!
  When you came home with some Pink Floyd tickets!!!!!! What!!!! We had such a great time!! I’ll never forget it. Partying at Noah and Kathy’s and Hollywood night in our Hollywood years. Then you split and mom and dad helped me with getting a little one bedroom apartment. You eventually came back and stayed with me for a while and then we  went our separate ways for a bit again.
    I moved to San Marcos Ca and Escondido Ca to work for dad at his Allied. You came later with different wife Cathie and we packed together. The only time I actually looked forward to going to work was when we were sent on the same pack jobs. Sometimes we would stop at Ensenada Taco shop on the way to play a little pinball “Earthshaker” the San Andreas ! I always had high score locked in! It was my machine! Mexican rice with green sauce was breakfast. We were able to BBQ and visit all the time. The weekends at Family fun center and Bowinkles How I was curious about what was inside a bowling ball so you tossed it in the air till it finally cracked to show me. The funny obscure trails of things you would leave for me to find. Very creative! You managed to score 6 Pink Floyd tickets!!! You Cathie your Stepson’s kris and Eric me and Bob, spelled the same backwards, all went together. Wow ten years later after first time. You are so awesome Keary!!! 
   When I lived in Blythe Ca. You would come visit from time to time. Never knew when you would show up, you just would. 3:00am cuz it’s 125° in the day and you couldn’t ride your motorcycle in the day without air conditioning. On Thanksgiving a couple times when you visited we would go to the soup kitchen and eat. Then we’d get back to my place and eat again. It was so much fun. We didn’t have to it was just a silly thing to do. 
Remember collecting all that Millennium out in the desert? I still have it in little jars. Remember the pool games at Jack Dandy’s and The Horny Toad? 
the spaghetti house sign that almost killed me and John? When you came and stayed at a motel and left cryptic messages and clues as to where I could find the room key so that I could get the $20 deposit after you left. Or when you jumped from the freeway bridge into Colorado River right at the California/Arizona border sign? I was sick to my stomach and couldn’t watch that. We invented “Owl Fishing “. We would tie one of my cats rabbit fur toys to fishing poles and line and at night go out and owl fish. No harm to the owls. But very entertaining! 
   I moved back to to Fallbrook Ca. And you came to visit me a couple times there but then you were hit on your motorcycle and I didn’t see you again but we always kept in contact with writing and phone calls. I always thought you would just show up but you moved to Wisconsin again and we never got to see each other anymore. It really makes me sad.  But we talked all the time and wrote each other and when I had that horrible neighbor ,that had me sick with nervous issues , you always called me every night because you knew I couldn’t sleep so at 2:00am or 3:00am you would call me to make me laugh and keep me company. Thank you! How every time one or the other hears “wish you were here on the radio it’s always a sign to call each other. 
I always wished that you would just show up. 
   It’s been many, many years since I’ve been able to hug you in person and go off goofing around. I really miss that. 
  The “ How many butts can u touch “ game.( that’s where we would keep score in a store of how many strangers butts we could act like we accidentally touched and apologize for ruining into them )
   The “ I didn’t put that in my cart!!!” game. (That’s where we would sneak ridiculous items into a stranger’s shopping cart and follow them to the checkout line to see their reaction) Rogain , condoms, hemorrhoid  cream, tampons etc. the more embarrassing things the better. 
   You tell me about how you mow lawns for elderly folks in summer and snow shovel their sidewalks in the winter. People you don’t know and don’t want to be payed. You just do it out of the goodness of your heart. That’s so cool. 
   I know we must have had some rough patches along the way but I can’t remember any because the funny neat kind things are just so overpowering and there’s just so many good memories that I’ll never run out. I truly feel sorry for anyone who doesn’t know you the way I do. 
    You’re such an amazing person a gifted artist a wonderful kind natured friend and an absolutely spectacular man. 
       Thank you for all the wonderful.
           YOU AIN’T HEAVY 
  Never stop being you! I love you Keary!!!! 
“HO, HOW I WISH YOU WERE HERE “ 
     I LO
   Love your little sis’ 

   

I remember Keary as Uncle. He was an uncle to my siblings and I not by blood but by a great friendship he had with my dad. My dad and Keary used to work together and I guess that’s how my siblings and I got to know him. He lived with us as well. My Uncle Keary used to take myself, my older sister, and my older brothers on adventures. Even though I was 5 years younger than my older sister and 10 years younger than my older brothers he wanted to me to tag along. I remember him taking us to Knotts Berry Farm and the lake. I remember one time up at the lake my older brother Noah was playing with a snake and Uncle Keary told us to run and get in the car. I remember him getting a stick, picking up the snake, and tossing it so we didn’t get hurt. To me he wasn’t just Keary, he was Uncle Keary. I honestly didn’t know he wasn’t a blood Uncle until a couple of years ago. I remember recently him adding me on facebook and us catching up, sharing memories. He asked if I remembered him and I said “Yes, Uncle Keary.”  At the end of that conversation I told him I loved him and he told me that he loved me too. As the years went on I haven’t been able to reach out but that doesn’t mean I forgot about him or didn’t love him. A couple of days before we got the news of him passing my sister and I were reminiscing over the times we had with him. I love you UNCLE Keary. You are family and I know you are in Heaven with my brother, grandma, and God our father

Not everyone knew, but Keary was a prolific artist, using oil pastels and colored pencils as his mediums of choice. We are working to document and archive his entire collection of drawing (over 100) to share on the internet later this spring. In the meantime, here is one example of his artwork, many of which feature historical sites in and around Wausau, Wisconsin. Other examples are posted in the Gallery.

Right before he moved back to Wisconsin, I had asked Keary to join me on a photography trip to Yosemite and he agreed. It was late summer/fall and not too cold, so we elected to stay in the Camp Tent in Curry Village. These are tents on platforms with 2 double beds and a light bulb - not much else. Due to the many bears in Yosemite, you have to put all of your food and any flavored products like gum into bear boxes prior to retiring in your tent each night. 

One morning, our plan was to start out well before sunrise to get to Mirror Lake (back when it existed) to shoot sunrise photos. As it was a 1 - 2 mile trek from the nearest parking lot, we decided to leave about 4:30am and drive to the nearest parking spot from there. That morning we got up and it seemed like we were the only people up in the entire Yosemite valley. Eerily quiet and pitch black (there were no lights in the lot) and cold. As we walked out to the parking lot and loaded my pickup truck with photography gear - we noticed that there was one other person loading their vehicle on the far side of the lot. So after we were ready to go, I drove down the parking lot and rolled down the window to see if that person was photographer. As we got closer, we could see they were working in the back of their station wagon. I idled up on Keary's side of the truck and just as we pulled up next to the person, a very large brown bear reared up from the back of the vehicle and turned and looked directly into Keary's eyes - seemingly asking us "What Do You Want?" - with pancake mix or flour all over his muzzle. Keary looked over to me with a look I cannot ever forget and said, "Are you going to roll up the window or move forward - that isn't a photographer, that's a Grizzly Bear!!!". So I quickly pulled forward and we both exclaimed we had never seen a bear that big before. It was huge and when standing he was taller than Keary sitting in my Ford F-150.

As we parked at the nearby Mirror Lake parking area, we began to figure out that the only way out of Yosemite canyon for that big bear, was going to be on the same trail we were heading out on. It was still pitch black, as dawn was still an hour away. All morning every sound would cause us to freeze to see if we could hear something like a big bear coming towards us - but luckily it never happened. We did have a large herd of Elk come right around us when we were at the lake. And later that day, we learned from the ranger that there are no Grizzly bears in Yosemite - only large Black Bears - but they turn very light brown in the late summer so they look like Grizzlies.