Mary Louise Keen

Mary Louise Keen...

Mary Louise Keen was born on April 15, 1955 in Normal, Illinois.  She grew up on the family farm in Lexington, IL with her parents, Edwin & S’monne Elder and three sisters.  She worked at East Bay church camp for a year after high school graduation before entering nursing school.

On June 10, 1978, Mary married the love of her life, Michael Keen in Lexington.  Mary, Mike and their daughter Wendy moved from Illinois to Florida where Mary worked for the Doctor’s Hospital and welcomed their second child, Josh. In December of 1994, the family moved from Florida to Branson.  Mary provided care to patients in many areas of hospital care but most of her time was in the surgical step-down unit.  She retired from Cox Medical Center in Branson after 40 years in nursing.

Mary had both a kindness and a toughness about her.  She was blessed to have a very close-knit family that she loved more than anything. She was a huge football fan, cheering for the Kansas City Chiefs and Dallas Cowboys. When it came to music, hits from the 1970s were her music of choice and Three Dog Night was her favorite band.  She also loved the challenge of a good puzzle or crossword, reading a good book or playing card games, board games and video games.

Mary passed away Monday evening, September 23, 2024 at Cox South Hospital in Springfield.

She was preceded in death by her parents; grandparents, granddaughter, Katie and one nephew, Grant Benton.

She will be deeply missed by her husband, Mike Keen; daughter, Wendy Keen (Allen Huggins); and son, Josh Keen (Jana Keen) all of Branson; her sisters, Gretchen Clemmons (Rich Clemmons) of Bloomington, IL, Barbara Dick (David Dick) of Paris, IL and Joyce Benton of Normal, IL; her seven grandchildren, Austin Gard, Abigail Huggins, Amelia Keen, Evan Keen, Olivia Keen, Lucas Keen and Noah Keen; along with many nieces, nephews, extended family and friends.

Services will be Saturday, October 5, 2024 at Snapp-Bearden Funeral Home & Crematory in Branson.  Visitation will begin at 10:00 a.m. with the funeral service to follow at 11:00 a.m..  Graveside services will be at a later date in Lexington Cemetery, Lexington, IL.