James William Keeton
Calera

James William Keeton of Calera died Friday, Jan. 31 in Alabaster.

He was born in Barton on April 13, 1923.

He is preceded in death by his parents, James and Jessie Belle Keeton, and his brother, Charles, of Cherokee.

He is survived by his wife, Kathryn; four children, James Carlisle Keeton, Kathy Finley (Wayman), Diana Gray (Russ), and Ailene Keeton; four grandchildren, Elizabeth Hurn, Courtney Kenning, Danielle Huey, and Michelle Finley; and three great grandchildren, Conner, Michael, and Darcy Hurn.

Mr. Keeton graduated from high school in Cherokee. He attended Auburn University (then called Alabama Polytechnic Institute or API) where he was in the ROTC and flight trained at the Shelby County (Tennessee) School of Aeronautics. He served his country during World War II in the Caribbean Air Command, based in the Panama Canal Zone, and was honorably discharged from the Army Air Corps in 1949.

Mr. Keeton was a building contractor for many years in Shelby County. He was a 32nd degree mason with membership in the Shades Valley Lodge in Homewood, and a longtime member of Spring Creek Cumberland Presbyterian Church in Montevallo. He was an avid deep-sea fisherman, and a lover of animals, and gave a loving home to many stray animals.

Services will be Tuesday, Feb. 4 at Spring Creek Cumberland Presbyterian Church in Montevallo with visitation at 9 a.m. and funeral at 11 a.m.

In lieu of flowers, memorials may be made to Spring Creek CP Church or Sav-a-Life Crisis Pregnancy in Pelham.