Harold L. Keener

Obituary of Harold L. Keener

Harold L. Keener, of Mount Joy, PA, a gracious and generous man who was also known for his good sense of humor, passed peacefully while sleeping during the early morning of November 18, 2025. Born in Rapho Township on December 29, 1926, he was the seventh of ten siblings in the family of the late Walter D. and Ada B. (Longenecker) Keener. He was preceded in death in 2021 by his wife, Mary K. (Shearer) Keener, his childhood sweetheart and marriage companion for 72 years.

He is survived by eight children: Herb (Barb Gall) of Columbia; Carolyn (Leon) Hoover of Fresno, CA; Joyce (Nelson) Weaver of New Holland; Steve (Marilyn Musser) of Mount Joy; Willy (Barb Miller) of Elizabethtown; Jeff (Cathy Brubaker) of Maytown; Kathy (Stan) Keener Shantz of Lancaster; and Julie (Pete) Newman of Sidney, British Columbia, Canada.

Harold has 23 grandchildren, 49 great-grandchildren, and one great-great-grandchild. He is also survived by two sisters: Helen Hess and Barbara Reed, both of Lititz, and many nieces and nephews. Seven siblings have preceded him in death: Edwin, Samuel, Mary, Walter, Virgie, John, and Lincoln.

He was a lifelong member of Elizabethtown Mennonite Church, where he served in various ways, including as song leader and Sunday school superintendent, and he was known for supporting and encouraging those in leadership. He enjoyed singing in quartets and, later in life, with The School Boys, a men's quintet from church that traveled to retirement communities and campgrounds, singing the oldies of their childhood.

His long life of almost 99 years was not without its physical challenges. According to his mother, he nearly died of an asthma attack at age 2, and his honeymoon to Florida was cut short after asthma sent him to the emergency room twice. Over time, medication was found that helped alleviate the symptoms. Due to his condition, his dad thought he should finish high school and get a non-farming job. But farming, and especially potato farming, was in his blood. He left high school midway through 10 th grade to pursue his dream, and through good and bad, he never looked back. He eventually started a wholesale-retail potato business, still going in the family today, Harold L. Keener & Sons Potatoes.

He also enjoyed playing and following sports at any level. At the end of the potato harvest, he sometimes organized a softball game for the workers, followed by homemade ice cream. For a while, he coached the church softball team and supported two of his sons who played high school football. The family, including many of the grandchildren, are avid Philadelphia Phillies and Eagles fans. At the age of 91, as a gift from a family member and accompanied by several family members, he attended the 2017 Eagles-Patriots Super Bowl game in Minneapolis, MN, and enthusiastically watched his team win!

For many years in retirement, he looked forward to volunteering weekly with friends from church at the Mennonite Central Committee (MCC) Material Resources Center in Ephrata. There was also more time for family table games and puzzles, including with his great-grandchildren. He spent hours working outside near his house, having transformed an area of dead trees and brush over the years into a lovely wooded area with some benches, a mulch pathway for walking, and many flowers, often purchased at Gochnauer's stand at Root's Country Market.

He is well known for another almost weekly purchase at Root's, the dark chocolate peanut butter cups, which he freely shared with others. Any peanut butter cups he ate were offset by the 10,000 steps he walked almost daily, keeping his pedometer in his pocket for the record.

Above all, he lived a life of integrity, perseverance, simplicity, prayer, and compassion. His family cannot remember him sharing gossip or talking negatively about people. He lived with a sense of fairness and contributed generously over the years, especially to organizations that support people experiencing food and housing scarcity.

The family wishes to express our sincere gratitude to his daughter-in-law, Barb Keener, a nurse; live-in caregiver, Mabel Dowuona; and Masonic Village Hospice, Elizabethtown, for providing excellent care, comfort, and companionship to Harold during his last months of declining health.

There will be a viewing on Friday, December 5, from 4-6:00 pm at Elizabethtown Mennonite Church, 300 South Spruce Street, Elizabethtown, PA. For those attending the viewing only, please consider arriving during the earlier portion of the viewing time. The Celebration of Life service will begin in the sanctuary at 6:00 pm, followed by light refreshments and fellowship around tables in the Multipurpose Room. Burial will be private at Bossler Mennonite Cemetery. Contributions in Harold's name can be made to the Mennonite Central Committee (mcc.org), 21 South 12 th Street, P.O. Box 500, Akron, PA 17501-0500. To express a condolence with the family or for additional information, visit www.spencefuneralservices.com.