State of Missouri loses leader, Scout, statesman

Noreen Hyslop photo Mike Keathley was featured in the Daily Statesman as a cancer survivor in July of 2005. He is shown during that time with wife, Julie and sons, Mason (at left) an Peyton. Cancer took the life of Keathley Wednesday morning at his Dexter residence.

The 51-year-old lifelong local resident played a major role in the Missouri political arena, serving since early 2005 in the capacity of Commissioner of the Missouri Office of Administration under Governor Matt Blunt. In that role, Keathley is credited with having taken politics out of the equation as he planned and executed the state's $20 million-plus budget over the past three years, dramatically cutting expenditures and trimming the fat off of excess spending, especially in the area of government lease properties.

Prior to his appointment to the commissioner's role, Keathley served as Chief executive of his family-owned industry, IXL, located in Bernie. He devoted a lifetime to the mission of the Boy Scouts of America and in that endeavor, served on the executive board of the Greater St. Louis Area Council and also acted as council camping chairman, executive board member, and vice president of the SEMO Council.

An Eagle Scout and Order of the Arrow himself, Keathley continually served to further the philosophies of the Boy Scouts and readily made himself available to groups throughout the state to educate and inspire the youth of the state of Missouri.

Keathley also served in various capacities within the community, including as first a board member, and later as chairman of the local hospital board. He was instrumental in the formation of the Dexter Tree Council and served on that committee for several years as well.

Dignitaries from across the state lauded not only the work, but the person that Mike Keathley was, upon hearing of his untimely passing.

"Mike Keathley was a fighter," said Governor Blunt in a Wednesday morning statement. "He fought off his cancer for many months even when the doctors said it could not be done."

"As Commissioner of the Office of Administration, Mike was a tremendous public servant," Blunt continued, "and a trusted member of my Cabinet who answered my call to help fix a broken state government with great competence and skill."

In an emotional statement, Blunt concluded, "More than this, he was a great and an outstanding Missourian. Mike will be remembered for his dedication and for his many achievements to help enhance the state he deeply cared for. I will miss him greatly."

Rep. Jo Ann Emerson echoed the sentiment of Missouri's governor, stating, "Mike Keathley will be deeply missed by the people of Dexter, of Missouri, of the nation, and especially by everyone in the Emerson family. Mike has always possessed a sense of community and a true desire to improve the lives of his fellow citizens that enabled him to make great, lasting contributions to our Missouri home."

Emerson continued, "...I am buoyed by the legacy he leaves for all of us and the profound record of his achievements which will long endure."

Rep. Billy Pat Wright, in a statement from Jefferson City, cited the works of Keathley, stating, "The state of Missouri has lost a great statesman and Commissioner of Administration. Mike Keathley and his office staff have saved residents of the state of Missouri millions of dollars by consolidating the bidding process of the state's leasing programs and through his good business sense, he has continually made our state more efficient and reduced operational costs."

"Mike was a good friend, a family man and respected by the General Assembly and his community. I will miss his wisdom and his leadership abilities."

In a statement from Lt. Governor Peter Kinder, a boyhood friend of Keathley who joined in his friend's efforts through the arena of Boy Scouting and who will be delivering the eulogy at Saturday's service, Mike Keathley is remembered as one whose "dedication to this great state and citizens across Missouri was unparalleled."

"Today Missouri is a better place thanks to the hard work and commitment of Mike Keathley," Kinder said.

Mike Keathley is survived by his wife, Julie and two young sons, Peyton and Mason, his parents, Bob and Yvonne Keathley and brothers Gary, Ron and David, and numerous relatives, friends and associates.

Governor Matt Blunt has ordered flags to be flown at half-staff in both Stoddard and Cole counties until dusk on the evening following the Keathley memorial service, which will be held on Saturday.

A complete obituary appears on page five of today's Daily Statesman and a tribute to Mike Keathley accompanies this article.

Following is an editorial tribute to the memory of Mike Keathley, written by Noreen Hyslop, but expressing the sentiments of a community who will miss one of its own.

Seldom have we witnessed the efforts of one man in the state's capitol having the impact upon the financial state of Missouri as those of Mike Keathley.

When he lost his battle with colon cancer yesterday, the community lost a true leader, the state lost a statesman and a loving family lost a husband, a father, a son, and a brother. He will be missed.

To know Keathley was to know a man of great vision, who saw a need for change and did something about it with impeccable skill and efficiency. He continually laid the groundwork that governed the state's expenditures, and is credited with saving Missourians millions in the process.

Mike was efficient, proficient, effective and a master at what he did. His talents, though, came not only in his ability to serve, but in his incomparable gift of communicating. He delivered his message with fervor, often interlaced with humor, calling upon his role as husband and father in the process of telling his story.

Mike leaves an enviable legacy behind. The impact he has had on the state of Missouri in his role as first Senate Administrator and then Commissioner of Administration under the current administration is unprecedented, as is his devotion to the cause of Scouting across the state. Most importantly, he leaves two small boys who will benefit for a lifetime from his wisdom, his patient nature, his uncanny ability to reason and reckon, and his vision.

He survived the ravages of a disease that should have taken him years ago, but with endurance and determination seldom seen, Keathley performed his duties as commissioner, husband and father, many times formulating a budget and directing his staff from a hospital bed between chemo treatments. And a complaint was never heard.

In recent years, having dealt firsthand with the effects of autism, Mike devoted tireless efforts to voicing the need for a center close to home that would serve the diagnostic and therapy needs of autistic children. His pleas did not fall upon deaf ears. Southeast Missouri will reap the benefits of his efforts within the field of autism for many lifetimes.

Mike was passionate about many things, utmost his family, but also his work, his community, Civil War trivia, nature all around him, trains and trees. His interests were vast and his ambitions were endless. He was thorough and paid great attention to detail and when he delivered a message, all sat at attention because Keathley was known to cut to the chase and present all options in a clear and concise manner. He was good at what he did.

The work of Mike Keathley was cut short just as he was doing his best work, especially in the task of raising his sons. If they mature with the character and the vision that was their father's, they will see success and somewhere, it will make a father proud.