Robert D. Keiver, 89, of Marblehead passed away peacefully surrounded by his loving family on Thursday, Nov. 10, 2022, after a brief illness.
Bob was born in Cambridge, Massachusetts, to Laura (Foster) and Osmund O. Keiver Sr. on May 31, 1933. He graduated from Swampscott High School in 1952.
He spent a year at North Carolina State before enlisting in the Army and stationed in Panama.
He married his Marblehead High School sweetheart, Patricia Crosby Keiver, on April 14, 1956. They were married for 52 wonderful years, until Pat’s death in 2010. They built their home in Marblehead where they raised their family and always resided.
O.O. Keiver Lumber Company is where he started his career in 1956. After the business had a fire, Bob’s father reopened the company as Keiver-Willard Lumber Corp. in Beverly, Massachusetts. Bob became president and remained active in the business until his passing 67 years later. He devoted his life to the company, eventually moving it to its permanent location in Newburyport.
He is survived by his devoted and loving children: Gwendolyn Keiver-Hewett and her husband, Tom, of Salem; Pamela Rodgers of Marblehead; Nancy Goodrow and her husband, Patrick, of Eliot, Maine; and Patricia Heintzelman and her husband, Webb, of Newburyport. Bob also leaves his nine adored grandchildren.
Bob loved the time spent with his good friend, Audrey Kennedy, and with her entire family. Audrey predeceased him by one month.
Visitation will be held on Tuesday, Nov. 15, 2022, from 4-8 p.m. at the Conway, Cahill-Brodeur Funeral Home, 82 Lynn St., Peabody, and his funeral will be held at the Old North Church in Marblehead on Nov. 16, 2022, at 10:30 a.m.
In lieu of flowers, please donate to the Squam Lakes Natural Science Center in Holderness, New Hampshire. For directions and online obituary, visit www.ccbfuneral.com.
View the online memorial for Robert D. Keiver.
