H.W. Keisker Jr.

JONESBORO - Dr. H.W. "Bill" Keisker Jr, 94, of Jonesboro, departed this life Friday, April 22, 2022, at the Flo and Phil Jones Hospice House surrounded by his family.

He was born Sept. 9, 1927, in Memphis, to the late Henry William Keisker Sr. and Rebecca Duke Keisker.

Bill was a member of St. Mark's Episcopal Church in Jonesboro and part of the men's club at the church for more than 60 years.

When Keisker neared the age of 18 and the draft, he traveled to New Orleans and passed his test for a first-class commercial radio license to operate an amateur radio, although he couldn't operate with World War II ongoing.

Bill instead entered the Merchant Marines cadet program to train as a deck officer, but the war ended after his first year of training. Bill then went back to Memphis for pre-med school.

He graduated from medical school in 1951 and began a surgery residency at Kennedy Veterans Administration Hospital in Memphis. Everything was put on hold when he was drafted for the Korean War and served two years in Fairbanks, Alaska.

While stationed in Alaska, he completed a successful surgery on a girl who swallowed an open gold safety pin in 1955.

Keisker moved to Jonesboro in 1960 and later retired after 33 years as a general surgeon at St. Bernards Medical Center.

Bill then taught anatomy in Arkansas State University's new physical therapy program for a year. He also served on the Arkansas State Board of Health for several years.

Bill absolutely loved electronics, so much so that when he was 23, he invented an instrument that measured the pressure inside the stomach. The instrument was one of the first of its kind using radio waves and was used at the University of Tennessee's Division of Physiology.

Even with all the great things Bill was able to do, his greatest passion was music. When Bill was 7, he was given his first violin. He was made to practice every day and was later thankful for it.

He started taking lessons from Noel Gilbert, the concertmaster for the Memphis Symphony Orchestra. Bill later performed in the orchestra's first violin section for about five years.

He joined the Student String Quartet at Rhodes College, then known as Southwestern. In Jonesboro Bill became more involved with music, helping to organize and playing the upright double bass in the Rotary Band, and also in a band called Dixieland Group which later transitioned into the "The Over-the-Hill Gang."

He would play his violin for Christmas Eve services at St. Mark's.

Keisker then helped start Alley Records in the early 1960s. It led to the creation of the Keisker Transistor Mixer. One of his mixers is now part of the ASU Museum.

Keisker retired from the violin and other musical instruments because of his health. He retired after 30 years from the orchestra.

Bill and his wife Ruth would travel to their second home at Norfolk Lake once he retired.

In addition to his parents, Dr. H.W. Keisker Jr. was preceded in death by one great-granddaughter, Elizabeth Matthews.

He is survived by his lovely wife of 60 years, Ruth Edwards Keisker of the home; one son, John Keisker of Little Rock; one daughter, Rebecca Keisker of Jonesboro; three grandchildren, Stephanie Matthews, Timothy Penley and Jacob Penley; six great-grandchildren; many other relatives; and a lifetime of friends.

The family will be holding a memorial service at 10 a.m. Thursday, at St. Mark's Episcopal Church.

In lieu of flowers, the family has asked you to please consider donations to the Arkansas State University Music Department at www.astate.edu/ a/advancement/give-now /#Music%20Department.