His Obituary…..It’s Just not enough……….67 words just won’t do !!!!
By: Harold Newton

I reread an obituary the other day of my friend William Keith Gordon…Keefee to those that knew him best.
His obituary was short and only mentioned the basics about when he was born, a short list of relatives and when he died…and that was even wrong.
So, when people read about him in years to come that’s about all they will know when they google his obituary. This is what you see when your google William Keith Gordon obituary:
William Keith Gordon born August 4th,1963, and passed away April 21st, 2014. He was preceded in death by his father William Carl Gordon. He is survived by mother Ida Mae Plunkett Gordon, and sister Hayley Flynn. Mr. Gordon served his country with the U.S. Navy, and locally through Maury Regional and St. Thomas Hickman with the radiology department. He will be deeply missed by those who knew and loved him.
Not much for a guy who meant so much, to so many, impacting many lives in his short 53 years……
Well….I want to tell you more about Keith….more about who he really was. I don’t won’t him to be forgotten, with the only records of him be his short obituary, and his EMR (electronic medical record) that lasts forever…….Keith was my friend !!!!!
Keith was probably the smartest man I have even known….and it wasn’t because of Google, Siri or Alexa.
Keith never married, First, reason I say he was so smart. …)
If you were ever a friend of Keith’s, you were a friend forever. We’ll get back to this.
Keith was born in Dickson Memorial Hospital in Dickson, Tennessee on August 4th, 1963. He was the oldest child, and only son, to Ida Mae Plunkett Gordon and William Carl Gordon. He was proud of his raising and life in the Tennessee countryside of Hickman County. He, like most country boys in that era, spent time wondering the woods, working on old cars, hauling hay and working at about anything he could to get money, for playing around. He was so proud to be from Centerville and Hickman County and the life lessons he learned there. His Dad and Mom raised him to work hard, appreciate what he had, and to share it whenever he could. He lived his life doing just all that.
The loves of his live were the women in his life. His mother, his sister Hayley, and his nieces Allison and Shay. If you were a friend of Keith’s, you knew everything that happened in these ladies’ lives.
Soon after graduation from Hickman County High in Centerville, Tn he joined the United States armed forces in 1981. He spent four years as a proud member of the United States Navy. Serving onboard the USS Cape Code and the USS Arkansas as a Machinist Mate E4.
Keith was not a big talker….until you got to know him. People sometimes thought he was not very social, but that was only until you got to know him. Then he was an open book and a man of many talents.
He was a barbeque champion, cooking in the Jack Daniels Cookoff in Lynchburg, Tennessee was a real honor for him. My “secret barbecue recipe” that my family thought for years was from my own creation, was in fact from Keith. Barbecuing was not his only culinary skill. He was a connoisseur of fine foods and could cook practically anything he wanted. He did so often for the girls at Maury Regional Hospital. He made Cream brulee, that would shame any French chef. His appreciation of the finer foods led many of his friends to several unforgettable meals. Visiting some of Tennessee’s finest restaurants, and Mom and Pop cafes.
In his spare time, he became a pilot. He and two friends, who one I only knew as “Old Man Leech” and other was Mr. Joe Duncan, were his partners. They had some real stories to tell.
He even became an amateur photographer. Amassing a large collection of photography equipment from all over the world. Shortly before his death, we had both bought Ham radios and study guides to become Ham radio operators.
Friends….Keith had a lot of friends. He had a core group that were his closest. I would say his closest and oldest Friend was Brett Martin. A fellow Hickman countian that he worked with for years at Maury Regional and at Hickman Baptist. They were such close friends. When they both got part-time jobs working opposite weekends, they each would volunteer on the weekends off to work together so they could get done on time.
Keith could remember many of his friends’ kids’ names, birthdates and some of their grandchildren’s as well. He even knew the name of every one of Dr. Jim Grippo’s children…and that wasn’t easy. Just another reason he was one of the smartest people I ever knew.
If anyone needed anything, he would do everything he could to accommodate. He would go to friends’ homes to help with computer issues. He was a genius with them too. One weekend he took a day and went to Kendra Tinnin’s house, with all her kids and fixed her a new computer. The last video I had from Keith was one he took when Kendra had just delivered her last baby.
His other best friends were a group that he would often cook with, travel to restaurants and concerts with, play trivia with as well as taste testing events. They were the” Four Banditos” for the lack of better adjectives. Steve Sandlin, Pete Holt, John Kirk completed the group. If you saw one of these guys out in town the other three weren’t far behind. Keith always appreciated what it meant to be a friend, and to have friends. He went out of his way many times to accommodate and appreciate his friends. If you remember anything written here, remember that family and friends are the most important thing in life. Not the job, the car, the version iPhone you have, or house you live in. Keith always put his family and friends above himself.
I said earlier that Keith never married. Well if you worked with Keith, you know that’s not exactly true. He did have a” work wife”. Her name was Robbie Lynn Haynes, and she was awesome. We called her super MOM…)
Robbie could find or make anything she or her kids needed. Either at a yard sale, or from a shady salesman in the parking lot of a closed grocery store. Robbie was the best. Keith and Robbie would treat each other like sparing spouses. The ones of us that witnessed these interactions loved it. Keith had very little patience for “testy” clients. I remember on more than one occasion Keith would shout at Robbie. ROBBIE, WOULD YOU GO IN THERE AND MAKE THAT PATIENT SHUT UP AN DO LIKE I TOLD THEM… it was awesome …..) Robbie, who can talk the ears off a deaf mule, would fix it, and everyone would be happy. Keith loved Robbie, although he would never let her know, and the feeling was mutual I am sure.
He took great pride in his jobs, whatever they were. He was probably the best Magnetic Resonance Imager around. He would often have physicians call him to get his opinion on what the best exam would be to see a certain part of the body. He taught many students who are now successful technicians in their own right.
So, when Keith died April 21st, 2017, we were all devastated. He was a perfectly healthy 53-year-old, or that was what we all thought. But Keith had a distrust in the “medical system” and many practitioners in general.
So, a relatively minor leg fracture caused his untimely death in a matter of a week.
Now, the smartest man I ever knew, knows the answer to the question millions struggle with every day.
What happens when you take your last breath, on this earth, and walk through that threshold into the next … of eternity?
Now, Keith knows that too….)
Rest in peace my friend……