ATHENS, Ohio – Keith Duane Peterson passed away at age 78, surrounded by family, at home in Athens, Ohio, on Thursday, Sept 24, 2026, after a brief illness.
Keith was born in Mineola, NY, but grew up in Falconer, NY. He earned a BA in English from Harpur College in Binghamton, NY and Master of Arts from Ohio University. He did not finish his final dissertation for his PhD but was studying 18th Century British Literature and Old English Language at OU. In between his studies, Keith served in the Army based at RAF Alconbury, England from December 1968 to December 1971.
Keith was never one to follow the crowd and bow to social norms, so he spent his first few years after OU as a stay-at-home parent. During this time, he noticed a need in town for not just house painting, but also high quality, comprehensive contractor services. He spent 25 years as a Self-Employed House Painting Contractor applying his zeal for life-long learning to ensure he understood everything he could about the various types of paint, interior decoration, home inspection, and other aspects of the job. An indication of the quality that he brought to the job is that he never needed to advertise and always had more work than he could handle in those 25 years.
Keith did not seek the limelight, but he did have a great sense of wanting to help people. He volunteered for several local Democratic candidates that he believed would help the area, writing stump speeches, driving the candidates around Southeast Ohio, and even going door-to-door to leave campaign literature. Keith also devised and started the Donation Station at the Farmer’s Market to provide fresh produce for people in Southeast Ohio dealing with poverty and food insecurity.
Keith was an avid reader and always had nine books out at a time from the library. He would finish at least one or two of the books every other day. He had documented and rated all of his reading since his college days, and achieved his lifetime goal of over two billion pages read. Keith’s fondest wish was that everyone would learn and love to read.
Keith was preceded in death by his parents (Duane and Gwendolyn) and his parents-in-law (Rev. Clarence and Edith Carlson). He is survived by his wife, Ellen, his brother Todd (Diane) Peterson, son Trevor, daughter-in-law Amy, and grandsons Samuel Rizzo and Callum Peterson. He is also survived by brother-in-law Dr. Harold (Dr. Gabrielle) Carlson and sister-in-law, Edith (Jerry) Doud.
A Celebration of Life will be held for Keith on Oct. 24, 2026, at Christ Lutheran Church in Athens. In lieu of flowers, please make donations to the Athens Public Library or a Food Pantry of your choice. Please share a memory, a note of condolence or sign the online register at www.jagersfuneralhome.com.