1909 - 1987
Keepers Family of Wisconsin, Group 7
Merle was born on June 2, 1909 in Star Valley, near La Farge, WI. He was the third son and fifth child of William Alvin and Mary Jane (Long) Keepers. William was a cheese maker, and the family moved occasionally as necessary. The spring floods one year gave William the opportunity to ride the roof of the Star Valley cheese factory down the Kickapoo River. Merle’s childhood was spent near various cheese factories in Richland County and Juneau County, WI. He often visited his Uncle John & Aunt Mary Turnmire on their farm near Mill Creek, south of Boaz. When he was 11, he was sitting on a large rock at the farm entrance and just happened to spot an arrowhead lying on top of the ground at the base of the rock. I have that memento at home, and it reminds me of Merle and his generosity.
The family was poor and college was out of the question when Merle graduated from Hartford High School in 1926. He began a career as hotel manager, beginning at the Hotel Lorraine in Madison, WI. He went on to run the Beloit Hilton in Beloit, WI. He courted and married Lois Mae Marsh in 1931. At one time,
they lived in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, where Lois was the “girl Friday” for Frances C. Prescott, Principal at the local high school. Merle and Lois were acquainted with yet-to-be-famous Grant Wood, who taught an art class in the high school. Miss Prescott was the model for the central figure in Wood’s "Daughters of the Revolution." In a letter to my wife and me, Merle wrote: “There is no resemblance. Wood changed the appearance of all of his models except one. In 'American Gothic,' the male model was Wood’s dentist, and Wood painted an exact likeness. It was said that the dentist was furious. He didn’t live long enough to learn that his real face would become well known to millions.”
Merle served in the army during World War II. He was stationed in England and was on General Eisenhower’s staff. After the war, he was told to move away from the cold climate of the upper Midwest if he wanted to live for very long. He had allergies and a weak respiratory system – the latter, a family trait. Lois and Merle moved to southern California, where Merle found a job near Los Angeles with North American Aviation. He worked in the accounting department and became a manager. He was a strong company man and felt that he was an integral part of America’s space program. He was an ardent patriot and faithful Republican Party member all his life. He was especially supportive of President Ronald Reagan, and Merle is listed in the records of the Presidency of Ronald Reagan as a charter member of the Republican Presidential Task Force.
During their California years, Merle and Lois were friends of Neta Snook Southern, who taught Amelia Earhart to fly. They were given an autographed copy of her book, “I Taught Amelia to Fly.”
Merle and Lois loved children, but, for them, a child of their own was not possible. Lois delivered a baby September 11, 1940, at Beloit Hospital, Beloit, WI, but the baby did not survive. Her name was Penny Ann Keepers. In 1940, medical science was not able to resolve the problem of an Rh-positive baby carried by an Rh-negative mother. Acknowledging the birthdays of their nieces and nephews through their eighteenth birthdays showed their love for children. Their love of family resulted in the publication of the 1979 edition of the Keepers Family in America.
Jerry K. Keepers, November, 2004