Joseph Keimig - Obituary

oseph F. Keimig, 95, educator Joseph F. Keimig, a retired educator and executive with the Maryland Commission for Higher Education, died Wednesday, July 31 at his home in Accokeek, Maryland after a long illness. He was 95. Dr. Keimig was born and raised in Baltimore, Maryland and graduated from the Marianist Preparatory School in Beacon, New York. He earned a B.S. in education in 1940 from the University of Dayton, Ohio; a M.S. in business education in 1945 from the University of Pittsburgh; and a Ph.D. in adult education and adult learning psychology in 1963 from the University of Chicago. Dr. Keimig was a religious brother in the Society of Mary (Marianists) for 33 years. In high schools in Manayunk outside Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, in San Juan, Puerto Rico, and in Cincinnati, Dayton, and Hamilton, Ohio he taught business, history, civics, accounting, English literature, and English as a second language. He also directed student musicals, drama, and marching and concert bands during these years. At the University of Dayton, he taught business and was Dean of the Evening School and Director of Summer Sessions and Workshops for three years early in his career. He later became Administrator of the University of Dayton’s West Campus and a member of the University’s Administrative Council. Following dispensation from his vows as a religious brother in 1965, Dr. Keimig took a position with the Maryland Council for Higher Education, serving for four years of his ten years there as its Associate Executive Director. In 1968, he married Patricia Ansley, a native of Philadelphia, and they had one son, William J. Keimig, of Accokeek, Maryland. He left the MCHE to return to teaching, serving on the faculties of the University of Baltimore and Towson State University in Maryland for five years before retiring in 1980. In retirement, he was a frequent speaker on religious topics at Catholic women’s groups. He was also a catechist instructing adults who desired to become Roman Catholics at St. Mary’s of Piscataway, a parish in the Catholic Archdiocese of Washington, D.C. where his son is Director of Religious Education. He undertook extensive writing and editing responsibilities for several books published by the Association for Catechumenal Ministry, a national organization that assists, supports, and helps improve adult Catholic catechesis in the United States. In his early 90s, he began his autobiography, Life is Worth Living, completing the text shortly after his final illness began in January 2013. In his mid-70s, he tore out and completely rebuilt two bathrooms in his home, contracting only electrical and plumbing work. He and his wife took up genealogy and traveled three times to Bavaria, Germany to seek out family. They also traveled in Switzerland, Austria, Italy, and England, as well as to the Holy Land. Dr. Keimig was notable for his youthful vitality and love of life. In addition to his wife of 45 years and son, he is survived by his daughter-in-law Heather; his grandchildren Rose, William, Julianna, Theodore, Elizabeth, and Gregory; his sister-in-law Margaret Keimig; and numerous nieces and nephews. Viewing will take place on Friday, August 2, from 3:00 to 5:00 p.m. and 7:00-9:00 p.m. at the George P. Kalas Funeral Home, 6160 Oxon Hill Road, Oxon Hill, Maryland 20745. A Mass of Christian burial will be held at 10:00 a.m. on Saturday, August 3 at St. Mary’s Catholic Church of Piscataway, 13401 Piscataway Road, Clinton, Maryland 20735. Interment will follow on Monday, August 5 at Most Holy Redeemer Cemetery in Baltimore, 4430 Belair Road, Baltimore, Maryland. The family has requested that, in lieu of flowers, gifts be made to the St. Vincent de Paul Society for the poor at St. Mary’s, or to the fund for renovation projects for the church and chapel at St. Mary’s.