Keith Harris Day Obituary (1927

Keith Harris Day, 91, formerly of Scaly Mountain, NC, and Springfield, Illinois went to his heavenly home on June 29, 2019, after a brief illness. Born on December 17, 1927, in Springfield, Illinois, he served in the US Navy as a weather forecaster in the North Pacific, during the end of WWII. After leaving the Navy, he worked for Sangamo Electric Company in Springfield, Illinois, and Clayton, Georgia until his retirement. He was a lifelong lover of the outdoors and an active member of the Appalachian Trail Society and the Bartram Trail Society. Keith Day Knob in Macon County, NC was named to honor his many hours of service in developing and maintaining trails for the Bartram Trail Society. Mr. Day was a devoted Boy Scout Master in Springfield, IL (Troop 3) and in Rabun County, GA. He was also a loving husband, father, grandfather, great-grandfather and a friend to everyone he met. He was preceded in death by his wife, Evelyn Marie Hinds Day, daughter, Janet Marie Day Jackson, mother Margaret May Bryson Day, father Lloyd C Day, sisters Mildred Day Wiebking and Thelma Jean Day McKnight, and brother Robert B. Day. He is survived by his daughter, Jane Lynne Thornburg (Mark) of Dallas, NC, son, Lloyd Keith Day (Tonjia) of Lincoln, IL, granddaughters Phyllis Kastle (Alan) of Brookfield, IL, Jessica and Margaret Thornburg of Dallas, NC, grandson Joshua Day of Lincoln, IL, great-grandson Eliot Kastle of Brookfield, IL and brother Edward Day of Denver, CO. There will be a private ceremony for the family in Gastonia NC. The family will receive friends from 10:00 until 11:00 am, Saturday, July 27 at Fricke-Calvert-Schrader Funeral Home in Mt. Pulaski, Illinois. A memorial service will follow at the funeral home. Inurnment will be at Stout Cemetery in Chatham, Illinois. In lieu of flowers, the family asks for memorial gifts to be given to The Bartram Trail Society or Appalachian Trail Society. The family would like to thank the loving staff of Carolina Care Center in Cherryville, NC for treating him with exemplary care in his final years. He was treated by all as if he were their own family member.