Shirley "Sam" Keene

Shirley “Sam” Oran Keene, 76, of Monrovia, passed away on Friday, January 29, 2016, at Hendricks Regional Hospital, in Danville. He was born on April 9, 1939, in Spencer and grew up in a large extended family with 14 siblings. Sam worked as a machinist at General Motors for 30 years; retiring in 1991. He was a member of the UAW Local 933 and the Fraternal Order of Eagles in Plainfield. Sam had a green thumb and liked hunting deer, ginseng and mushrooms. When the weather was nice, he enjoyed being outdoors and with his special eye for morels, Sam often won many bets by finding the largest mushroom in family contests. An honest, respected and blunt man, Sam did not have a filter and everyone knew exactly where they stood with him. Sam married Marlene Kepler and together they spent 19 years together. A man who lived life to the fullest, his family claims that he lived more, in the 76 years of his life, than most people could have lived in 200 years. In October of 1976, Sam met his match and after three short months of dating, he moved to Monrovia and married Nancy Finchum; to whom he was blessed to share the last 39 years with. Always putting his children and grandchildren first, he was a devoted provider for his family and truly enjoyed spending time together. Sam, Nancy and the kids have many cherished memories together including the time spent at the cabin in Owen County riding quads, gatherings for the Indy 500, and special trips to the riverboat, Atlantic City and Vegas. He was preceded in death by his father, Otis Keene; mother and step-father, Frances (Campbell) and Earl Sperling; son, Michael Keene; half-siblings, Clarence, Clyde, Leonard, Cletus, Gail, Leona, Violet, Mary and Betty. Survivors include his loving wife, Nancy (Finchum) Keene of Monrovia; children, Sam Goodman of Linton, Rick Keene of Mooresville, Jay Keene (wife, Jeni) of Indianapolis and Jeannie Nungester (husband, Brian) of Avon; siblings, Nina Chapman (husband, Jack) of Florida, Jeannie Wood (husband, Pete) of Kentucky and Otis Keene of Camby; half-siblings, Mary Arthur (husband, Dave) and Allen Bean (wife, Jeanette) both of Florida; grandchildren, Erica Keene Lynch (husband, Robert) of Monrovia, Nicole Keene of Indianapolis, Joel Brown (wife, Amanda) of Brownsburg, Dustin Lamb of Indianapolis, Shelby Lamb and Alexxis Nungester both of Avon; great grandson, C.J. Shockley of Monrovia; former spouse, Marlene Kepler of Speedway. Family and friends are invited to gather and encouraged to dress comfortable for food and fellowship from 3 to 6pm, on Sunday, February 7, 2016, in the Monrovia Festival Building, 50 S. Walnut Street, Monrovia. A brief memorial service to celebrate Sam’s life will be held during the gathering at 3:30pm and will be officiated by Pastor Darrell Dennis. In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions may be made to help locally fund and support heart and cancer research (envelopes will be available at the gathering). Funeral and Cremation arrangements have been entrusted to Light Memorial & Funeral Chapel in Monrovia. To share a favorite memory, send the family an online condolence, or light a candle in his memory visit www.lightmemorial.com.

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Shirley "Sam" Keene

April 9, 1939 - January 29, 2016