Bill Keys Obituary

Bill Keys
February 2, 1924 - March 6, 2015
On Friday, March 6, 2015 James W. "Bill" Keys, 91, formerly of Caldwell, Idaho, passed peacefully in his sleep surrounded by family at his home in Nampa.
Bill was born February 2, 1924, in Douglas County, Missouri, to Oliver and Naomi Keys, the third of eight children. Bill attended Caldwell High School but had to move the family to California his senior year and graduated from Armijo Union High School in 1940. Bill served in the Merchant Marines for a brief time before joining the U.S. Navy B-5 Naval Aviator Program in 1942 where he trained and served as a flight instructor until 1946. In 1945 he married Audrey Huddle and they had three children together, Karen and Cindy, twin daughters born in 1946 and Gail Burns, born in 1947.
In 1946 Bill returned to Caldwell and joined his father's business, Keys Construction Company. After a couple of years, Bill's dad retired, leaving Bill to run the company. Keys Construction grew little by little into a commercial and residential company with Bill as the general contractor. Bill owned and operated Keys Construction with various partners and friends for 32 years until his retirement 1982.
In 1978, Bill married Marcia Bazzoli and her two young boys, Joe and Aaron. After the boys graduated high school, Bill built his last home by hand (with a little help from his friends) in Caldwell and lived there until he and Marceia moved to the Goldcrest Community in Nampa in 2002.
Bill's passion was aviation and he loved flying his Cessna through the Idaho backcountry. Bill was an active outdoorsman and enjoyed fishing, hunting, backpacking, golfing, snowmobiling, river rafting and RVing.
A memorial service for the public will be held at 2:00 pm, Saturday, March 14, at the Caldwell First Baptist Church on Linden Street, a church Bill helped build in 1970. The family wishes to sincerely thank the Horizon Hospice caregivers, the ProCare personnel, and the firemen from Engine 4, of the Nampa Fire Department. In lieu of flowers, memorials can be sent to MAF (Missionary Aviation Fellowship) at P.O Box 47, Nampa, ID 83653.
Condolences may be shared with the family, and the full obituary can be read at www.dakanfuneralchapel.com.

Published by Idaho Press Tribune on Mar. 11, 2015.
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