Kenneth Vincent Keyes

Ken was born to Lois and Wendell Keyes on December 8, 1950, in Ellensburg, Washington. He was baptized as an infant at Grace Episcopal Church in Ellensburg, Washington. Ken was an acolyte at Grace Episcopal Church in Ellensburg during the 8th and 9th grades. His parents moved their family to Spokane in the summer of 1966. He continued as an acolyte, during 10th grade, at St. David’s Episcopal Church in Spokane. He grew in his faith and worshiped in the Episcopal Church as a young man. His conversion to Catholicism began in 1972 when he proposed to Teresa in Okinawa, Japan. Ken was confirmed a Roman Catholic by Bishop Francis Joseph Green at St. Andrews Church in Sierra Vista, Arizona, in May of 1973. Unknown to most, he rarely spoke about his mystical and spiritual heavenly visions that the Lord Jesus and the Blessed Virgin Mary granted him. Those lifelong experiences were rare but fed his soul with the truth that came from having seen the crucified Christ in a personal experience while in Vietnam and later in life he audibly heard Our Lady, Mary, speak to him lovingly on one occasion. He saw angels, and all of this with his own eyes and ears. He would often say, “I don’t believe. I know!”

As a youth, he was a Cub and Boy Scout (Life) and enjoyed many camping trips in the canyons of the Eastern Cascades near Ellensburg, Washington where he grew up surrounded by his extended family (Kaynors and Crimps and Keyes). Ken participated in Civil Air Patrol from 1965 to 1967. The cadets were actively involved in searching for lost campers, hunters and hikers, in addition to learning about flying. At summer encampment in August 1966, the cadets accompanied pilots who took them through aerial flight maneuvers on T-33 jet trainers. Ken was the last cadet to fly on that occasion. With less fuel weight the pilot was able to perform more parabolic maneuvers, including dive bombing, weightless flight, and flying upside down. For Ken, this was a thrill of a lifetime. That summer he was named Outstanding Cadet, out of ten squadrons.

He attended Shadle Park High School, where he ran cross-country on his school team, running the 1.6-mile races and placed 3rd in the All City meet in 1966. That year the Shadle Park team placed 1st Overall. In 1967, he ran track, specifically the 440-yard relay. He was a member of the DECA program in high school and graduated in June of 1969.

Both his grandfather and father served in WWII. Ken and both of his brothers enlisted. His older brother (deceased) Marc Dayton Keyes, Navy Petty Officer (1967-1971), his younger brother, Gary Patrick Keyes, Marine Corps Sergeant (1974-1978), and Kenneth Vincent Keyes, Army Sergeant (1969-1978), all served honorably. Ken enlisted on June 13th, 1969. He was assigned to basic training at Ft. Ord, CA, through August 8th, 1969. After basic, he was assigned to Advanced ASA training Spy School through May 1970 and Advanced 05 H School, Ft. Devons, MA. From May 1970 to May 1971, he served in Vietnam (Mekong Delta) with the 9th infantry division providing combat tactical intelligence with the 335th RRC (Radio Research Company), Army Security Agency (ASA) as a high speed morse code intercept operator with a Top-Secret Crypto Special Intelligence (SI) security clearance. The North Vietnamese Army (NVA) had a bounty on the heads for the capture of any RRC personnel in Vietnam. His clearance required a need to know only and for years he was not allowed to disclose nor speak about any of his ASA classified service activities in Vietnam and Okinawa.

He left Vietnam May 26th, 1971, at 2:00am on a C-141 Starlifter known as the Silver Phantom because the fallen men were returned on that transport. On that day long ago, 10 soldiers including Ken, pilot and crew, flew from Saigon to Kadena, Okinawa. Accompanying them were the caskets of the deceased that filled the back of the plane from floor to ceiling. It was a sobering departure for Ken and those who were leaving alive.

Ken completed his AA at Spokane Falls Community College. He studied the Roman Republic and the Roman Empire, archaic Greece era, classical Greece, Egyptian history, Islamic history, and ancient Near East. His major at Eastern Washington University was Ancient History (Greece, Roman, Egyptian) with a minor in archaeology and anthropology. After completing almost four years at Eastern Washington University (EWU), he considered a transfer to the University of Chicago Oriental Department for a Masters in Ancient History because EWU at that time had no 500 level courses for Ancient History. He decided that living in Chicago on a VA benefits income was not practical for Teresa and himself.

He drove professionally for Greyhound from May of 1980 to Fall of 1986 and Northwestern Trailways from 1986 to 1996. During summers, he immensely enjoyed driving for Tauck Tours in the Canadian Rockies mostly because of the tourists who were experiencing the Pacific Northwest and Canada for the first time. In those years before cell phones, these drivers were the first responders often even before the highway patrol arrived at the scene of accidents. Ken told many stories of heroic rescues he performed assisting with brain injuries, life and death crashes, and delivering bleeding and traumatized survivors to the ER of local hospitals along his routes.

He continued his self-taught education earning his Washington insurance license in 1996 (life insurance and annuities) and additionally a Series 7 broker license. He worked as an independent insurance agent from 1996 to 2003. Ken had a heart for assisting elderly widows with their finances as their trusted professional. When the federal and state rules and regulations changed drastically in 2003, he decided to leave the insurance business.

His interest in computers next lead him to get a certification from Dell Computer for design and repair. From 2003 to 2012 he custom built gaming and multi-media computers and laptops for a select few companies and customers. By 2012 Dell and other computer manufacturers consumed the market making it difficult for small independents to compete for pricing.

Ken loved his motorcycles. He bought his all-time favorite first Harley, a 2008 Dyna Low Rider, with Vance Hines pipes. In 2008, Ken was instrumental, as a chapter original (co-founder), in the establishment of the Spokane Combat Veterans Motorcycle Association (CVMA), Chapter 11-3. CVMA membership is limited only to those who have served in combat zones, own a road bike, and are vets helping vets. Ken was member number 2169.

In the summer of 2012, Ken connected with producer Steven Bratter and his brother James Bratter. Steven Bratter served as an executive producer for “Demolition Man” (1993), the movie starring Sylvester Stallone. Mr. Bratter had many private interests, and his brother was away teaching film school in Malaga, Spain. Consequently, nothing developed for producing more movies with them beyond their friendship with Ken. So, again Ken set about to independently learn more about the film industry, writing and producing movies. Ken had already conceptualized a film and taught himself screenwriting and how to use Fade-In software for writing scripts, which is a very specific format, and very unlike writing a novel. His first completed project was a script “Bikers” (copyrighted). It was finished and ready to go into production with its lookbook available for financing. He had already begun assembling the team, was in pre-production, had begun set scouting, and completed auditioning original musical scores with a composer. Ken’s production company was Virchy Filmworks. He and his longtime friend, L.R. Keith, together conceptualized three additional screenplays. Unfortunately, due to the Covid pandemic, the world and the film industry came to a halt. Simultaneously Ken was diagnosed with stage IV kidney cancer in July 2020, pausing further effort for his project. The final six years of his life Ken fought as hard as he could to regain his health so that he could complete his dream of having composers, filmmakers, cinematographers, producers, actors, directors bring his “Bikers” movie to life. Many were already initially involved in the project.

Ken loved music and dancing. He won a dance contest at the NCO Club, Camp Kue, Okinawa. His all-time favorite instrumental was “Canadian Sunset,” James Last, and his all-time favorite song was “Grazing in the Grass” by Friends of Distinction. His all-time favorite movie seen over likely more than hundreds of times was “Ben-Hur” from 1959, starring Charlton Heston.

He loved speed, whether while he was in high school cruising Riverside with his buddy, Doug Nance, in his father’s Mercedes Benz in the mid-60’s, or racing his 1972 Datsun 240Z with his buddy, Steve Mulroy, where they could access a non-restricted road on Kadena AFB Okinawa next to the airstrip racing the “Habu”, Lockheed SR-71 spy planes during take-offs. An impossible pursuit but thrilling!

He had a ’55 Corvette 265 V8 and once raced an Arizona Highway Patrolman topping 110 miles an hour and became friends with the officer who potentially could have been in hot water as he was on duty. Whether Ken was out on the highway riding the wind with his 2008 Harley Davidson Dyna Low Rider, or on the local lakes driving open throttle in his Eddie Bauer Maxum powered by a Chevy 305 V8 engine he loved the thrill of acceleration.

Ken also loved cats and their antics. Teresa and Ken over the years had these six fur babies: Punkie, Sparky, Gabriel, Caesar, Cleopatra (“Cleo”) and Madonna.

Ken was a “walking encyclopedia” of knowledge of Greek and Roman history and able to recall facts and dates from memory. Like his younger brother Gary, with whom he enjoyed talking about classic cars, Ken knew engines and car facts for all sorts of cars and planes. He also enjoyed spending time, boating and picnicking, with his sister Karen, and Teresa at the local Washington and Idaho lakes.

Ken and Teresa were married July 21, 1973, at St. Charles Borromeo Church in Spokane, Washington with his older brother Marc serving as his Best Man. Ken and Teresa lived in Arizona, Japan, Virginia, before they finally settled in Spokane. In their 53 wonderful years of marriage, Ken only ever learned two phrases in Spanish, “dame un beso” (give me a kiss) and “yo te amo” (I love you), perfectly pronounced!

Of all the things Ken accomplished in life, his greatest pursuit was to grow closer to God! He passed away at home on September 18th, 2026, and went to behold his King and Lord!