He didn’t have a large family.  He and his older sister were the only children born to their parents.  The closest kin that survived him are three nieces and a nephew.  He never married.

He lived alone in a modest house.  He worked many years as a sales executive for FTD Florist.  In the last few years of his life, he worked at Mobile (AL) Public Library, restocking books into their places on the shelves.

He was fiercely independent and was viewed as rather gruff and stubborn in some of his ways.  Yet he had a big heart and was very passionate about some things in his life: his friends, his Lord, the church, and University of Alabama football.

Dan Keith was not well-known, but his influence has been felt around the world, literally.

In the days following Dan Keith’s passing, a large group of people in Ryali, India mourned his passing.  A special gathering took place in which children of the Song of Joy School and the Bud & Joy Children’s Home as well as adult students of the Preachers Training School met together to pray a “sympathy prayer” in loving tribute to Dan Keith.  For years, Dan sponsored a little girl in the Bud & Joy Children’s Home.  Now, years later, that “little girl” is scheduled to complete a degree in nursing, due in large part to Dan’s loving assistance!

In his lifetime, Dan developed a concern for others – for their physical and spiritual well-being.  His concern for other people expanded as he experienced the grace of God in his own life.

On February 16, 2007, he gave a Bible to his dear, long-time friend, Susan.  On the flyleaf of the Bible, Dan wrote these words to Susan: “The words in this book can comfort you and guide you into heaven.”  Susan says that once he got his life “on track” and dedicated his life to following Christ, he wanted all of his friends to know the Way to heaven.

Dan would want YOU to know: Jesus is the Way to heaven (John 14:6).  Jesus, God’s Son, died on the cross for your sins and mine (1 John 2:2).  Through Him, we can have the forgiveness of our sins and receive the gift of eternal life (Ephesians 1:7).

God will save those who place their faith and trust in Jesus (Acts 16:30-31), turn from their sins in repentance (Acts 17:30-31), confess Jesus before men (Romans 10:9-10), and are baptized (immersed) into Christ for the forgiveness of their sins (Acts 2:38).  He will continue to cleanse from sin those who continue to walk in the light of His Word (1 John 1:7).

No, Dan may not have been that well-known, but he had a huge – and even eternal – impact on others, especially as he loved and pointed others to Jesus.

It is my prayer that in some way Dan’s life will point YOU in Jesus’ direction.

Won’t YOU trust and obey Christ?

-- David A. Sargent

* In Loving Memory of Dan Bryant Keith, Jr., January 22, 1939 – July 14, 2016.

David A. Sargent, Minister