Lafayette "Laf" Keeney, 89, of Fenwick in Old Saybrook, husband of the late Janet (Hale) Keeney (2002), entered into eternal peace on Thursday, Feb. 18, 2016, at Yale-New Haven Hospital.

Lafayette was born on Dec. 18, 1926, in Somersville, and was the youngest of six children of Ralph and Julia (Allen) Keeney.

He grew up in Somersville, attended Valley Forge Military Academy (not as a problem child; he really wanted to go), and received his high school diploma from Norwich University and his college diploma from Nichols College. He served honorably in the U.S. Army as part of the force that occupied Germany at the conclusion of World War II.

He married Janet Hale of Portland in August 1950 and moved to Somers, where they raised their family of three sons. Each is married today, and Lafayette proudly has eight grandchildren and five great-grandchildren.

He spent his entire business life at Sage-Allen & Co., a specialty department store headquartered in Hartford until his retirement as chairman and CEO in 1990.

Throughout his professional career, Lafayette served on the boards of many local companies and institutions including the Hartford Chamber of Commerce, Arthur A. Watson & Co., Fleet Bank, Hartford Hospital, St. Francis Hospital, Suffield Academy, and Nichols College.

He was a 60-year Mason and a member of Composite Lodge 28 in Suffield and a member of Royal Order of Jesters, Court 141, in Hartford. He was the longest-serving member and past commodore of the Canoe Club in East Hartford. He was a member of the Westbrook Elks Lodge 1784. He was a member of the First Church of Christ in Old Saybrook.

Lafayette and Janet built their dream house and moved to the Fenwick section of Old Saybrook in 1988. He was very active in the community serving many years as a member of the Board of Burgesses and elected to three terms as warden.

He had a lifelong passion for the New York Yankees and was at the Stadium when Don Larsen pitched the perfect game in the 1956 World Series. He enjoyed coffee and conversation each morning with his buddies in Old Saybrook. They spent many hours planning the annual Scum Beach picnic. His door was always open for old friends to visit. And if he wasn't at his house, odds were you could find him on the golf course or chasing bluefish up and down the beach.

Lafayette is survived by his three sons, Frank D. Keeney and his wife, Beverly, of Old Saybrook, Ralph D. Keeney and his wife, Cathy, of Cortland, New York, and Jeffrey H. Keeney and his wife, Caryn, of Portland, Oregon; a sister, Julia Ann Walton and her husband, Bill, of Fenwick; eight grandchildren; and five great-grandchildren. Besides his wife Janet, Lafayette was predeceased by a granddaughter, Emily; three brothers, Norm, Bud, and Tom; and a sister, Caroline.

A memorial service to honor and celebrate Lafayette's life will be held at 11 a.m. Saturday, Feb. 27, 2016, at the First Congregational Church of Christ, 366 Main St., Old Saybrook. At the family's convenience, a private burial will be held at West Cemetery in Somers.

Donations in Lafayette's memory may be made to the Emily Allen Keeney Memorial Award-SCSU Foundation, 501 Crescent St., Wintergreen Building, New Haven, CT 06515, Attn. Heather Rowe; and to Nichols College, P.O. Box 5000, Dudley, MA 01571.

Somers Funeral Home is entrusted with arrangements.

To leave online condolences, visit

www.somersfuneralhome.com

To plant trees in memory, please visit the Sympathy Store.

Published by Journal Inquirer from Feb. 20 to Feb. 24, 2016.

Memories and Condolences
for Lafayette Keeney

7 Entries

February 27, 2016

Frank and family,

We are so sorry to hear of your dad's passing.

Seeing his picture brought back so many memories of the good old Sage-Allen days. He was a kind man who always had something nice to say to everyone.

We will remember him in our prayers.

Mike and Julie Godart
Rocky Hill

Jack Walsh

February 25, 2016

My deepest sympathy to Lafayette's family. He was so considerate of others and always had a story to tell.It was such a pleasure to know him as an employee of the Fenwick Golf Course and as a friend,

Mary Ellen Ceraldi

February 24, 2016

To the Keeney Family, I am so sorry for your loss. My Dad worked for Lafayette for many years at the Distribution Center for Sage Allen in East Hartford. He always spoke highly of Mr. Keeney and loved the suits he would hand down to him. I met him several times while I was employed at Sage Allen. He came to my Dad's wake over 20 years ago and that meant so much to my Mom. Prayers for all of his family.

Paul and Lois Lodola

February 22, 2016

To the Keeney Family:
My wife Lois Cooley Lodola worked at Sage Allen while attending college.
She has many good memories of Lafayette, and what a great boss he was.
I and many other Brother Masons will miss this wonderful person.
We regret that we are unable to attend in person to express our sympathies.
Our thoughts and prayers are with you during these difficult times.
Sincerely,

Nancy Synnott Cahill

February 21, 2016

My condolences to the family of a special man. Everyone loved Lafayette, an intelligent caring compassionate listener. He so loved his annual Beach Scum parties to which I was luckily invited. I cannot imagine playing Fenwick golf without seeing his Yankee blue emblemed golf cart whizzing by with Yankee Pennant blowing in the beach line breeze. I also enjoyed a fun 9 holes Fenwick golf with him, a great golfer even into his late 80s. Sadly I never thanked him enough for taking my brother, a downtrodden lost young man under his wing and mentoring him up the Sage Allen ladder to be President before his unfortunate leukemia 45 yrs passing years ago. Sage Allen was a wonderful family - a shadow of Lafayette. So glad I got to be reacquainted with Lafayette in these past Old Saybrook years. Even his cigar puffing stories will be missed. A life well lived and now happily joined again with his beloved Janet. - with Sympathy, Nancy Synnott Cahill

Stanley S. Polomsky, Jr.

February 20, 2016

My sincere sympathies to the Keeney family.

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