Keith Carter Sevedge

1959 - 2023

Keith Carter Sevedge
January 23, 1959 - January 7, 2023
Lenexa, Kansas - Keith Carter Sevedge, 63, died on January 7, 2023 in Merriam, Kansas.
Keith was born on January 23, 1959, the first-born child of Roger William Sevedge and Kathleen (Carter) Sevedge in Kansas City, Kansas. His sister Amy joined the fold shortly thereafter, and a wonderful childhood full of love and laughter ensued which featured prominently in the stories he delighted in relaying for the rest of his life.
You might say Keith consistently beat the odds. We think he probably just ignored them. Keith was diagnosed with type one diabetes as a toddler in the 1960's. He responded by excelling: in school, by skipping grades and passing with flying colors across White Church Elementary, Arrowhead Middle School, and Washington High School; in extracurriculars, like debate, theatre, and music; and allegedly even in sports, where his sons are actively soliciting eyewitness testimony concerning his prowess as a football "monsterback." Not content with the titles of Boy Scout or Eagle Scout, Keith shook hands with President Ford upon being crowned the national champion of the Boy Scouts' annual public speaking competition in 1976. It seems the only thing Keith couldn't do was measure five feet tall for his college driver's license.
The siren song of bigger things repeatedly called out to Keith as he obtained opportunities to attend school and ultimately embark on careers far from his beloved home in Kansas City. Fortunately for us, Keith demurred. He proudly attended the University of Kansas twice, securing both journalism and law degrees. Along the way he was a regular on various university radio broadcasts; he met lifelong friends with the Nu Chapter of Sigma Nu; and he introduced the entire Sevedge family to a love of Kansas athletics that transcends generations and even that football program.
After school, Keith returned to his hometown of Kansas City where he engaged in the private practice of law in a law office that also employed fellow Washington High graduate Jan Yankovich. Historians remain perplexed as to how Keith won Jan's heart. But win it he did, and the lovebirds were married in August of 1986 at Christ The King church surrounded by family and friends. When Roger and Kathleen's family business had a sudden need for an attorney in 1990, Keith again "came home" to Artco Casket Company, where he worked shoulder-to-shoulder with his parents and many other cherished colleagues at Artco and various suppliers, customers, and distributors across the country for more than three decades.
Keith and Jan were blessed with two healthy sons, and Keith traded in his City Park slow-pitch softball cleats for WyCo Little League coach cleats, where he never missed a practice or a game. He was a mainstay of the third base coach's box, where he relayed signals to incalcitrant baserunners and windmilled them home with reckless abandon. No coach spent more time engineering lineups that would equitably share playing time at premium positions and no sponsor spent more time engineering uniform design quirks that no one else would possibly appreciate. Dozens of players and one Varsity Sports shop on Parallel Parkway doubtlessly appreciated his efforts.
Keith was dealt successive bad hands from a medical perspective. He endured a challenging bout with muscle disease in the early 2000's and faced a deluge of complications in coordinating care over the years that followed. That coordination of care was handled adeptly by several providers over the years, for which Keith and the family are eternally grateful. Through some combination of stoicism and Keith's trademark stubbornness, he persevered without complaint. Insulin injections, morphing dietary restrictions, oxygen tanks, the loss of his once-dulcet speaking voice, and unaccounted-for limps may have felled a lesser monsterback. Ours took each in stride.
Keith's joy for life remained palpable, though it was often disguised by the glare on his spectacles and the infamous mustache on his upper lip. As always, the communities close to him remained the chief beneficiaries of his verve. He was a longstanding volunteer with KU's Audio Reader program, enabling vision impaired would-be readers of small local newspapers to stay appraised of local happenings. He happily stayed on as a board member and President at WyCo long after his sons' illustrious baseball careers ended at the very respectable age of fourteen. He was a rock at his parents' side; he sent his sons careening around the bases to adulthood with an unflagging faith in them shared by few others; and his grandchildren adored opportunities to spend quality time with Grandpa Keith. Above all else, Keith and Jan woke up every morning and went to bed every night to bookend page after page of their story: one full of affection, care, and laughter that pierced through every malady du jour and sustained lifetimes of happiness and love.
On Saturday, a call came for Keith that he could not refuse. We are forced to assume he has rejoined his parents one last time. He will be dearly missed by those of us that remain, who will care for his memory and attempt to care for each other with the same unwavering love we were all so lucky to receive for so long.
Keith was predeceased by his parents, Roger and Kathleen Sevedge. He is survived by the love of his life, Jan Sevedge, of Lenexa; his sister, Amy (Sevedge) Ogden and her husband Dane; his sons and their spouses, Christopher and Mae Sevedge of Kansas City, Missouri and Alexander and Jessica Sevedge of Shawnee, Kansas; four grandchildren, Ashton, Hazel, Cameron, and Sterling Sevedge; and countless other dear friends and relatives whose love and companionship he cherished.
There will be a public visitation service for Keith at Porter Funeral Home, 8535 Monrovia, Lenexa, Kansas at five p.m. on Thursday, January 12, 2023; and a memorial service at Holy Trinity Catholic Parish, 13615 W. 92nd St., Lenexa, Kansas at ten-thirty a.m. on Friday, January 13.
Memorial contributions in Keith's honor are welcomed to Audio Reader at the University of Kansas or to The American Diabetes Association, any of which may be submitted in care of Porter Funeral Home.