James Keersmaekers

KEERSMAEKERS, JAMES ALLEN On August 17, 2013, Mr. Keersmaekers ended his stoic five-year fight with cancer. Born November 30, 1946 in Detroit. Preceded in death by his parents Jack A. and Helen Dorothy (Cenkner) Keersmaekers and baby sister Nancy. Survived by his wife of 40 years, Kathryn (Kohler) and daughters Brie Keersmaekers and Megan Keersmaekers Hoeft (Vincent) and step-grandson Nicolas Hoeft. He served in the United States Army and attained the rank of Sergeant in the Signal Corp. He retired from Hawthorne Appliance and Electronics as the builder sales manager in Birmingham, MI. Prior to that Mr. Keersmaekers, was a successful automobile salesman for the Rinke Group in Warren and Centerline, MI. His community service work included volunteering for the Red Cross as a Disaster (DAT) and spent several weeks in New Orleans serving after the Katrina hurricane. Jim also help start the Catholic Charities Linen Closet which serves needy families. He treated every client with dignity and received the admiration of those he served. He volunteered with his wife and daughters for several organizations including the Michigan Theatre of Jackson, Jackson Midtown Association, Girl Scouts Irish Hills, Jackson Symphony Orchestra and Relay-for-Life. He was a devoted husband, father and friend. He enjoyed working in his yard, restoring the woodwork in their home, riding his Harley Davidson motorcycle, repairing clocks, collecting antiques and driving his vintage corvette. Animals loved Jim and he was fondly called the "dog whisperer". The Mass of Christian Burial will be held on Tuesday at 10:00 AM at St. Mary Star of the Sea Catholic Church with Father Tim Nelson officiating. Private interment will take place at Resurrection Cemetery in Clinton Township. The family would like to extend a warm thank you to the Allegiance Health Oncology department and Allegiance Hospice Home Care, for the warm and thoughtful care given to him during his treatments especially to nurses; Julia and Lydia in Oncology. We would also like to thank our close friends and family for their kind thoughts, prayers and help, especially Jake Bacon. The family will receive friends at the Desnoyer Funeral Home on Monday from 2 to 4 and 6 to 8 PM with a Rosary Service at 6:00 PM. In lieu of flowers the family requests that you make donations to St Mary Star of the Sea Church or Allegiance Hospice. To send condolences to the family to go online to www.desnoyerfuneralhome.com Desnoyer Funeral Home Family owned for 123 years