Keith Ray Oakes

A few weeks ago, Ginny asked Keith, "are you happy?" Without hesitating, he replied "yes" and she responded "me too". That simple Q & A summed up a 58 year love story that taught a lot of us lessons about love and life.

Keith Ray Oakes was born in Susquehanna County, Pennsylvania in 1947 to Haskell and Rita Oakes. A twin to Kathy and brother to Bernard, Lyle, Doris, Howard, and Lou, he grew up on a dairy farm in rural Pennsylvania tending to cattle, taking care of animals, and occasionally shooting a pesky "varmint".

After high school, Keith joined the US Air Force. He was stationed across the country at Nellis Air Force Base in Las Vegas. It wasn't long before he met Ginny at a base dance. Despite his nerves, Ginny thought he was quite "cool" when he asked if she'd dance. After six days, Keith proposed. They married in 1967 and would continue to live in Las Vegas until Keith finished his military service. During that time, their family grew with the births of daughters Nikki and Darryl-lynn. Keith was surrounded by all girls, including most of the pets the family had.

Keith's service as a flight crew chief involved taking care of F-111 jets. His responsibilities included a year in Thailand where our troops were stationed. That year apart from his family was difficult for everyone, so before they could send him overseas again, he finished with 12 years of service in 1978.

After the Air Force, the family moved to St. Maries to be closer to Ginny's family. Keith was Ted's right hand at the Christmas tree ranch. Together they grew beautiful trees that were a part of Christmases around the area for many years. Always a hard worker, he did double duty, often working at the tree farm in the morning before heading to his job at Potlatch.

Over 34 years at the mill, Keith did a lot and was always up to learn more. When the company offered classes from LCSC, he was one of those who signed up. Watching that big guy with an early laptop was great. Seeing him compete with Nikki on grades was even better. He worked his way to millwright, taking care of the equipment on the sawmill side for many years. He retired in 2012 and got back to his first love, taking care of Ginny.

His work life was just one side of this amazing guy. Family and friends remember his fantastic and generous meals. While Ginny was the one who invited folks in or "voluntold" Keith for food at community events or church, Keith would show his hospitality with food - a trait both his daughters have inherited and share.

Cooking was gift he discovered after a short-order side-hustle during his military days. When their work shifts were different, he started cooking at home so dinner was ready for Ginny when she finished working. This was a habit he started again after his retirement from Potlatch.

Quietly nourishing and taking care of those he loved was important to Keith. It was a way to stay connected to his immediate family, his four granddaughters Alaina, Allison, Hannah, and Emily (yep, more girls), his brother and sister-in-law Donny and Sylvia Eberlin, his niece and nephews, and friends from the decades living in the valley.

He became the hub for family updates with his calls, happy Facebook comments, and emails. During their regular phone calls, he and sisters Kathy and Doris would talk about what they were cooking next, share recipes, and keep up on what all the family was up to. He kept up with brother Lou via emails that reminisced about their years growing up.

Daily calls with his daughters always ended with "love you guys". In an era where we take for granted being connected all the time, the connections Keith made were different. They were simple but deeply heartfelt and he was dedicated to maintaining them. Those calls and emails will be missed.

Keith is preceded in death by his parents and brothers Bernard, Lyle, and Howard.

Flowers are great (you know how Ginny loves them) but we hope that to really honor Keith's memory you all take a moment now and then to reach out to someone you love. Take a few minutes to make a call, share a memory or recipe, or give them a kiss on the forehead and tell them "I love you".

Military honors and graveside services will be presented at 1pm on Saturday, March 7 near the Veteran's Memorial at the cemetery followed at 2pm by a service at the Presbyterian Church