PATRICK S. O'KEEFE

1952 - 2019

O'KEEFE, Patrick, S. Of Naples, FL, died Wednesday, December 11, 2019 at the age of 66. He was retired as the chief executive of Watts Water Technologies, a publicly-traded manufacturer of valves and plumbing products in North Andover, MA. Born in Troy, N.Y. in 1952, Pat spent his early life in Watervliet, NY and Buffalo, NY. He was a graduate of Canisius High School and Canisius College, both in Buffalo and started his career there as a certified public accountant at Price Waterhouse. After earning an MBA from the Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University in Evanston, Ill, Pat lived and worked throughout North America as a senior executive of companies involved with the manufacturing and distribution of plumbing and building products. Pat's career brought him and his family to Evanston, Ill.; Rogers, Ark.; East Greenwich, RI; Montreal, Quebec; St. Louis, MO; Atlanta, GA; and Andover, MA. As CEO of Watts Water Technologies from 2002 to 2011, Pat transformed the company from a successful family-run business to an international organization with $1.3B in annual sales and operations in 11 countries. Pat was known for his approachable leadership style; he had an open door policy and often ate lunch in the company cafeteria with employees of all levels. His favorite lunch – peanut butter and jelly sandwiches – was served as hors d'oeuvres at his retirement party in 2011. After his retirement, Pat moved to Naples, FL, where he embraced life in the sunshine state by playing tennis and bocce. He was also an avid gardener. Pat is survived by his beloved wife, Winnie (Zylka) O'Keefe, to whom he was married for 40 years. He was the adored father of Megan O'Keefe Madden and her husband Jason, Caitlin O'Keefe, and Patrick S. O'Keefe, Jr. and the loving grandfather of Caroline Madden. He was the son of the late Jennie (Shaw) and John O'Keefe, Jr. and the brother of Dennis O'Keefe, John O'Keefe, III, Timothy O'Keefe, Mary Ellen O'Keefe, the late Daniel O'Keefe, Peter O'Keefe, Mary Clare O'Keefe, and Paul O'Keefe. Visitation will be on Friday, January 24 from 4 to 7 p.m. at Parker Brothers Memorial Funeral Home, 2013 Broadway, Watervliet, N.Y. A Mass of the Christian Burial will be held at 10 a.m. on Saturday, January 25 at St. Pius X Church, Loudonville, NY. Interment will follow in St. Patrick's Cemetery, Watervliet. In lieu of flowers, contributions in Pat's memory may be made to The Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson's Research.

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