MaryCatherine Keene died May 20, 2020 at Riverside Nursing Home and Rehab Center in Alton Illinois from COVID-19 at the age of 94. Because of the nursing home lockdown and pandemic safety precautions, her family was unable to be with her. She was one of 17 deaths at the home as of August 4th.
During WWII, MaryCatherine moved to St. Louis and worked as an airplane riveter, and did all she could to help the Allied causes. After the war, she moved back to Alton and married her husband (who preceded her in death). Mary had an independent spirit and outgoing personality. According to those who knew her best, she never met a stranger. She was an avid reader and skilled quilter. She was a master storyteller of her true life stories and was proud of being a woman that worked in her time allowing women to wear long pants.
MaryCatherine Keene is missed by her daughter, a surviving sister, grand children, and extended family. She’s also missed by the other residents of Riverside Nursing Home and anyone lucky enough to draw a story out of her.
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