Keith Urbain

Generous, funny, and selfless, Keith Urbain lived a life rich in family and friends. Keith loved to help and never hesitated to give all he could to support others. He was quick-witted, even-tempered, and an inspiring role model. Keith’s greatest joy was his family. He was a loving uncle who was fondly known as “Cookie” by some of his nephews. A loving, devoted, and kind husband, father, son, brother, uncle, and friend, Keith will long be remembered and so dearly missed.

1969 was a year of innovation and excitement. While the Beatles took the stage together for the final time, the Boeing 747 and Pontiac Firebird Trans Am made their debuts. Three hundred fifty thousand rock-n-roll fans peaceably gathered at Woodstock, and Neil Armstrong took his one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind. Nowhere was there more excitement than in Dubuque, Iowa, as Joseph and Linda (Schueler) Urbain welcomed their son, Keith, to their family on May 28.

Joining his older sisters Shelley and Terri, Keith completed the Urbain family. The siblings were all a year apart and enjoyed spending time with one another. Keith grew up in Dubuque County Iowa. A busy little boy, Keith was never one to sit still. He enjoyed the outdoors, riding his bike, fishing, and exploring. He was all boy!

After graduating from Hempstead High School with the class of 1987, Keith was all set to enroll at the University of Iowa when he announced to his family that he had joined the Navy. As his father served in the Army National Guard and his step-father in the Army Reserve, Keith followed family tradition of serving in the military. He was a proud member of the American Legion #656 in Farley, Iowa and Disabled Veterans of America. In his nine years of active service, he was stationed in Guam, NAS Key West, Florida and Jacksonville, Florida as an aircraft mechanic. Unfortunately, he received an honorable, medical discharge and completed his service in 1996.

In 1992, While stationed in Florida, Keith had the good fortune of meeting Shawn Gildea, a Western Michigan University student who was on vacation. The pair shared a long-distance romance, connecting through phone calls and letters, a lot of letters. Sometimes, Shawn would receive more than one a day! With their hearts set on sharing the future, the couple became engaged in June of 1993.

On July 23, 1994, the happy couple married in South Haven, Michigan, Shawn’s hometown. After living in Florida until Keith’s discharge from the Navy, they moved to Michigan in 1997, where Keith secured a job at Schupan Aluminum Sales. Over the years, he has worked in a variety of positions for the company, including sales, inside sales manager, quality manager, operations manager, director of operations-distribution, and manager of supplier quality and continuous improvement. A hard worker, Keith gave a lot of his time and passion to ensuring the company’s success.

In time, Keith and Shawn were blessed to become parents, welcoming two children to their family. Jake and McKenna were the centers of Keith’s world. In full partnership with Shawn, he was an active father who set an excellent example for his kids. Keith showed them the importance of family by putting the kids first and encouraging them to be their best. He enjoyed helping coach Jake’s Little League and travel baseball teams, watching McKenna dance competitively as a Dance Dad, and taking the kids fishing.

As family was so important to Keith, many trips were taken to be with extended family; the roads between South Haven, Kalamazoo, and Iowa were traveled many times over the years. Extended family trips were taken to special places like Sandy Pines, Disney, Chicago, California, and Cedar Point.

With the demands of work and fatherhood, Keith didn’t have much time for hobbies, but he did restore a 1952 Cushman scooter; traveling to scooter swap meets with his father in-law for the vintage parts he needed. Keith worked hard and relaxed when he could. He enjoyed reading, watching sports, most specifically the Iowa Hawkeyes, Chicago Cubs, and Jacksonville Jaguars. He also loved to fish, especially in the Florida Keys. He enjoyed grilling on his refurbished and customized Cubs grill while listening to Jimmy Buffett, Rock, Reggae, and Billy Joel. He loved island life and always wanted to return to the Florida Keys, where he and Shawn met and then lived when they first married.

Though our days with him were far too few, every moment we shared with Keith is a gift we will long treasure. May we find much comfort in our many wonderful memories and in the honor of carrying his legacy forward. In each moment we focus on family, confidently meet life’s challenges, give our very best, root for our favorite teams, cast our lines, and enjoy a day at the beach, we celebrate all the ways Keith made the world a better place. In this way, we keep his memory and spirit alive, inspiring others as he so inspired us. Keith Urbain died on Monday, February 19, 2024. Members of his family include his wife, Shawn; 2 children, Jake and McKenna; his mother, Linda (Larry) Hoefer; 2 sisters, Shelley (Dennis) Rublaitus and Terri (Jay) Schiesl; and several nieces and nephews. He was preceded in death by his father, Joseph.

Please join us for visitation, where stories will be shared on Thursday, February 29, 2024, 5-7 PM at Betzler Life Story Funeral Homes, 6080 Stadium Drive, Kalamazoo (269) 375-2900. Life Story Services will be held at 11 am on Friday at the same location. Visit Keith’s webpage at BetzlerLifeStory.com to archive favorite memories, photos, and sign his guestbook. Memorial contributions may be made to the American Legion Post 0656 of Farley, Iowa or Disabled American Veterans.