Obituary of Keith I. MacLean

History changed on April 5, 1946, when Keith Ian MacLean was brought into this world. Vancouver, British Columbia is where he called home while he was raised by his grandmother during the time his mother was gone for work. Keith often spoke of Stanley Park, where he played as a small child. Later in life, he visited his birthplace several times. Keith and his mother, Iona, became naturalized citizens of the United States when she married her second husband, Pat Reynolds, in 1950. Keith spent his childhood years in Edmonds, Washington, where he graduated from Edmonds High School in 1964. During his teenage years, one of his favorite summer jobs was working for the school district as a handyman, painting and doing maintenance around his school. As he worked, he marveled at a huge new section of highway being installed, which today is known as Interstate 5. Later in life, Keith became an avid trivia buff and was a big fan of the show “Jeopardy.” Though he was good at playing along, he was always stumped when it came to questions from the year of 1968 and always said, “I have no idea. I was in Vietnam that year.” The United States Air Force was his choice for service during the Vietnam War and there was no better fit for him. His gift of mechanical understanding helped him move up through the ranks quickly. By the end of his tour of duty, he had been promoted as to Staff Sergeant as the mechanic Crew Chief for his OV-10A Bronco squadron in ChuLai, Vietnam. Towards the end of his tenure, he also was a mechanic on a C-130E Hercules, based at Forbes AFB in Kansas where he was honorably discharged. After Keith’s service in the USAF, he enrolled at the University of Washington and graduated with a Bachelor of Science Degree in Mechanical Engineering in 1974. He was a proud Husky for life. Shortly after graduating college, he moved to Olympia, Washington, to become a tanker driver for Texaco. With recommendation of a mutual friend in 1975, he met his second wife, Michael-Mary. They were married in 1976 and, two years later, they celebrated the birth of his son, Aaron. In 1980, he again celebrated with the birth of his daughter, Adrienne. Keith avidly attended his children’s activities and volunteered in their classes at Pioneer Elementary School as often as he could. In 1992, Keith met Anna Easton and began dating. Due to conflicting work schedules, Keith often brought Anna lunch, which consisted of a tuna sandwich (with bread and butter pickles on the side) or ventured over to Costco to grab a hot dog. Keith and Anna were married in 1997, which added two step-children to his life, Aaron Huntley (born 1975) and Jenneen Huntley Trafton (born 1977). The wedding took place at Tumwater Hill, overlooking the Olympia Valley and Capital Lake. This spot quickly became one of Keith’s favorite spots from which to photograph Mount Rainier. In 2010, Keith retired from Crown Cork and Seal (formerly known as Continental Can) after 31 years as a maintainer. Keith was well known for checking pop cans to see who made them and where they came from—even well into retirement. Over the years, he continued as a handyman and was able to fix anything even if he knew nothing about what he was working on. His knack for photography was always proudly displayed around the house. Keith also enjoyed traveling to spend time with family members. Keith’s four grandchildren, Stone Huntley (born 1996), Rachel Trafton (born 2001), Sarah Trafton (born 2002), and Jasper Trafton (born 2007) helped keep him active and young. He was always willing to help them grow through education and read to them often, just as he did with his own children. He is now resting eternally amongst the stars with the love of all of his family. Please join us for Keith’s Celebration of Life on Saturday, September 6, 2014, at the Lacey Community Center at 4:00 p.m. Please wear purple or UW attire to honor Keith. Plan to stay for dinner from one of Keith’s favorite restaurants, and to share stories and memories with each other. Memorial donations may be made to the Livestrong Foundation (www.livestrong.org), Esophogeal Cancer Action Network (www.ecan.org) or a charity of your choice. The family would like to thank you for your continued love and support. Please leave memories of Keith or condolences for his family in the Guestbook below.