My grandfather, Elias Stone KEENAN, was born in Greene County, Pennsylvania on September 4, 1862. He came to Iowa as a young man and settled on a farm three miles west of Maloy. He married Estella May SIMS on March 17, 1892. (She had come west with her parents from Indiana in a covered wagon to Worth County, Missouri.)

Elias Stone KEENAN and Estella May SIMS KEENAN had two children. Rew Tilton KEENAN was born July 29, 1894 and Mona Isabelle KEENAN (OGLE) was born September 29, 1896.

Elias Stone KEENAN died December 29, 1920. Rew had married Gladys ELLIOTT from Mount Ayr that same year and his mother remained in the home that had been hers until Mona's son was born and he was needed there. (We have nothing but pleasant memories of Grandmother KEENAN living with us all those years. No one went to the nursing homes in those days!)

Rew and Gladys KEENAN had seven children. One son, Albert, died in infancy. Lee, Dorothy and Jean graduated from Maloy Consolidated School. Virginia, Robert and Marian attended Maloy until 1942. There was one year that we were all in school and Mom had six school lunches to prepare every day. Mom drove a school bus at a time when we were transported by car. She received about $50 a month in wages and it was all spent in Maloy for groceries and gas. (When she paid the bill for the month, they gave her candy for the kids!)

We moved to a farm south of Clearfield in 1941. Then, in 1947, Mom and Dad bought the DUNCAN acreage on the north edge of Clearfield. Dad died in 1958. Mom moved to a house in town and died of cancer in 1978.

The Rew KEENAN family has scattered but our closeness brings us together often. Our family to day is:

1. Lee KEENAN, who was born April 21, 1921, served in the Army in WW II on islands in the Pacific, operated a livestock farm west of Maloy, and is now retired, but still lives there with his wife, Sheryl HENDERSON KEENAN, a teacher in Mount Ayr Community schools. They have three daughters.

Lynn KEENAN BAKER graduated from Mount Ayr High School in 1973, Southwestern Community College in 1975 and Northwest Missouri State University with a B.S. in elementary education in 197.. She married Paul BAKER, a farmer, and lives on a farm southwest of Creston where she is a piano instructor and area organist. They have two daughters, Melissa, third grade, and Meredith, kindergarten.

Cheri KEENAN MAY graduated from Mount Ayr in 18975, SWCC in 1977 and NwMSU with a B.A. in interior design and a B.S. in secondary home economics education. She is manager of Godfather's Pizza in Liberty, Missouri. She married Jon MAY on October 20, 1985. Jon is assistant manager at Long John Silver's in Kansas City and they live in Kansas City.

LeAnn KEENAN graduated from Mount Ayr in 1978, NWMSU with a B.S. in seconary education in English and journalism in 1982, and a Masters of Arts degree in 1986. She is teaching high school English, journalism and publications in Waynesville, Missouri.

2. Dorothy KEENAN HALL was born on August 29, 1923 and attended NWMSU one year and taught in Taylor County rural schools two years, then taught handicapped boys two years and taught in Stuart, Iowa. She received her B.S. degree from Drake University and her M.A. in reading from the University of Iowa. She taught 25 years at College Community Schools, Cedar Rapids, Iowa. She married Clarence Beryl HALL June 25, 1941, who also taught school in Taylor County rural schools and served as principal in Cedar Rapids, then psychologist for sixteen years in Cedar Rapids.

Their children are Phil HALL (B.S. fom NWMSU) who taught auto mechanics in Albia and Muscatine and is now teaching at City High in Iowa City. His wife Susan (B.A. and M.A. in library science) is teaching at Wilton, Iow. They have two children. Mike is a senior, and Erica is a junior at Lincoln Community School in Stanwood, Iowa.

David HALL (a twin) has a B.S. from the U. of Iowa, M.S. from Penn State and a Ph.D. from Penn State. He works as Head of Reserch at H.R.B. Singer at State College, Pennsylvania. His wife Mary Jane works as a lab techinician in cancer research at Penn State. Their children are Sonya, eighth grade, and Crissy, second grade.

Wincie HALL ARMIGER (twin) attended U.N.I. in Cedar Falls, Mt. Mercy in Cedar Rapids and is sttending Kalamazoo Community College. She works part-time as a swimming instructor. Her husband, Jon, is manager of Penney's in Kalamazoo. Their children are Lisa, a beautician, Tani, '86 graduate of Mattawan High School, Wincie Kim, a sophomore, and Danielle, kindgergartner in Mattawan, Michigan where they live.

3. Jean KEENAN WURSTER was born October 24, 1925 and graduated from Maloy High School and NWMSU with a B.S. and M.S. in elementary education. She has taught every grade except second (K-6) in the elementary schools of Lenox, Bedford, Sac City, and is now beginning her eleventh year at CAL Community School, Latimer, Iowa. She married Karl WURSTER from Lenox, Iowa. He was a Contel installation and maintenance supervisors until his early retirement in 1982. They live in Coulter, Iowa.

4. Virginia KENNAN SIVERLY was born October 21, 1928 and graduated from Mount Ayr and NWMSU with a B.S. in elementary education. She taught in rural schools and is now teaching in Clearfield. She married Fred SIVERLY, a farmer and tiling business operator. They live on a farm south of Clearfield.

Their children include Nancy SIVERLY BROWN, a Clearfield high school graduate and NWMSU graduate with a B.S. in early childhood education. She teaches pre-school and kindergarten in Clearfield. She married Ronald BROWN, a farmer, and they have one daughter, Amanada, an eighth grader at Clearfield. They live on a farm south of Clearfield.

Monica Sue SIVERLY MOBLEY graduated from Clearfield and completed a B.S. degree in elementary education at NWMSU in December 1986. She married Ronald MOBLEY, a farmer and bulldozer operator. They have a son, Greg, a freshman at Mount Ayr, and twins, Marci and Brian, grade seven. They live on a farm west of Mount Ayr.

Kenneth SIVERLY graduated from Clearfield and NWMSU with a B.S. in business. He has worked in the First National Bank in Lenox and at KMA Radio in Shenandoah. Ken, his wife Karen who is an accountant at Grape Hospital in Hamberg, and son Brenton live in Hamburg, Iowa.

Virginia and Fred took his niece, Martha BENNETT LARSON, in to their home and raised her as their daughter. She and her husband, Lewis LARSON, have three sons, Will, Robbie and Shawn, and they live southwest of Clearfield on a farm. Martha graduated from NWMSU with a B.A. in elementary education and taught at Manning, Iowa before her marriage.

5. Robert Tilton KEENAN was born April 25, 1931 and graduated from Clearfield and attended Universal Trade School in Omaha. He now works for Earp's Plymouth, Dodge, Chrysler Company in Omaha. He served in the Korean War. He married Betty THOMSEN of Omaha who works in Customer Service at Commercial Savings and Loan in Omaha.

Their family consists of one daughter, Sandy KEENAN NIEBUR, son-in-law Jeff NEIBER and Granddaughter Nicole. They live at 9642 N. 31st in Omaha 68112.

6. Karl Marion KEENAN graduated from Clearfield and spent two eyars in the Army in Italy during the Korean War. He graduated from Northrop Institute of Technology in Los Angeles, California, and is not in charge of foreign military sales for McDonnell-Douglas in St. Louis. He has worked there 26 years. He married Donna STEVENSON of Clearfield and she works as a secretary for the Federal Aviation Agency in St. Louis. They have an adopted daughter, Karen, 17, who is a senior at Inglewood West, Hazelwood, Missouri. They live at 6710 Howdershell Road, Hazelwood, Missouri 63042. Marion is a man of many hobbies - auctioneer, photographer, knife maker and woodworker, to name a few.

~ Written and submitted by Jean Keenan Wurster, Box 155, Coulter, Iowa 50431

NOTES: Estella May (SIMS), daughter of Obadiah and Margaret SIMS, was born in Columbus, Indiana on March 26, 1863, and died March 20, 1944. She married Elias Stone KEENAN on March 17, 1892, Grant City, Worth County, Missouri.

  SOURCE: Maloy, Iowa Centennial History: 1887 - 1987 Pp. 128-29.

Courtesy of Mount Ayr Public Library

Transcription and Notes by Sharon R. Becker, August of 2011