Kathleen “Kathy” Marie Keith, aged 79 of Hamilton, OH, passed away on Tuesday, August 11, 2026, at StoryPoint Assisted Living in West Chester, OH. She was born on March 9, 1947, the daughter of Paul F. and Catherine “Kay” (Gogolach) Burkey.

Kathy first met her husband Ken Keith through a chance meeting with her friend, Joyce Pfalz. Ironically, Joyce’s brother Ken Pfalz, was Ken’s best friend, whom he had come to visit in Cincinnati. By chance alone, Kathy had traveled that same day from Hamilton to see her friend Joyce. That meeting was the beginning of a lifetime love affair that lasted more than 54 years. At that time Kathy was working for an insurance company in Hamilton and Ken was restarting his life after a marriage of ten years failed.

With her marriage to Ken she took on the role as stepmother to Ken’s three boys, all of whom she came to love as her own. At the beginning they only had the children on the weekends, but at age 12 Ken’s youngest son Kristopher came to live with them through high school. During those years, Kathy insisted that Kris continue getting his music lessons, which resulted in him becoming a professional musician. She was instrumental in Kris’s growing up, being there for him through his school years. She and Kris had a special bond that grew over the years and she also developed a close relationship with Ken’s older sons Kenny and Kevin, who grew up with their mother Gayle.

Later in life, she worked for Kraft foods as supervisor of Kraft’s data entry staff. Her mother’s guidance led her to be most capable on keyboards, and her skill at data entry in those days was extraordinary. She was so fast in data entry that she actually caused the computer of those days to freeze. In fact, so fast that IBM actually sent representatives to witness the fact that she could enter data faster than the computer could handle it.

On the home front, Kathy loved sharing time with the boys, going camping on weekends and spending time with them. She loved music, with a broad range, from popular rock and roll to classical and even opera, coming to love Luciano Pavarotti, whom we saw live in Cincinnati. Kathy’s family eventually welcomed Ken and the boys into their family in the most loving way. As her husband I can never effectively express my gratitude to her loving mother, father, brother and sister, aunt and uncles who took me into the fold. I cherish the memories of her family who showed me and my boys so much love and inclusion into their family.

As time went on Kathy, was always at my side, helping me get in a couple of years of college in engineering at U.C. We worked hand in hand to begin and build a printing company. She supported my run for State Representative in 2006 and 2008. Her pride in me for making that effort is something I will always remember. Our life together was one straight out of a romance novel. We never raised our voices at each other, we respected each as an equal. We always made our decisions in life together and made it a point to never go to bed with issues unresolved. Our relationship, passion and deep love lasted a lifetime. Though Alzheimer’s took her memory, just weeks before her passing, I said to her “I love you Kathy”, and she turned to me, looked me in the eyes and said, “I love you Ken.” I knew then that the memory may have faded, but that the love was still there. That love sustains me now. Though my heart is broken, I am still the luckiest man on Earth for having her love in my life. I thank God for His loving gift to me, the precious life and love of Kathleen Marie Burkey Keith. She rests today in peace, in the loving arms of Jesus.

Kathleen was preceded in death by her parents and a brother, Robert Burkey.

She is survived by her husband, Kenneth D. Keith Jr.; her step-children, Kenneth D. Keith III, Kevin D. Keith, and Kristopher D. Keith; her sister, Barbara Peggs; her niece, Jennifer Peggs; her nephew, Paul Peggs; six step-grandchildren; six step-great-grandchildren; as well as many other friends and relatives.

A visitation will be held Saturday, October 3, 2026, from 12:00-1:00pm in the Zettler Funeral Home, 2646 Pleasant Ave. A funeral service will be held at 1:00pm on October 3, 2026, also in the Zettler Funeral Home. Burial will follow at St. Stephen Cemetery. Burial will be in St. Stephen Cemetery on Wednesday, October 7, 2026 at 10:00am. In lieu of flowers, the family asks for donations to the Animal Friends Humane Society.