Jack Keahey
Encyclopedia
Jack Lynn Keahey, Jr. was a businessman, boat builder, welder, mechanic, politician, and civic leader in Columbia
, the seat of Caldwell Parish, in northeastern Louisiana
. He was best known as the president of the Tensas Basin Levee
Board. Having joined the district in 1992, he served as its president from 2000 until his death.
, the seat of Tensas Parish, located adjacent to the Mississippi River
in northeastern Louisiana. The senior Keahey relocated to Louisiana from Cairo
, Illinois
, to assist in the construction of the Mississippi River levee. Rayma Keahey's family moved from Yell County
in northern Arkansas
to Newellton
in northern Tensas Parish. Interest in levees hence spanned two generation of Keaheys.
. The Tensas district appeared strong amid questions having been raised about the preparedness of other levee districts in the wake of Hurricanes Katrina
and Rita
.
"I would say that we're the best run district in the state. We ought to be the model. Our board welcomes any scrutiny and will pass the test." Keahey told the Monroe News Star
in 2006. John Stringer, the Tensas Levee District executive director, told the News-Star that Keahey was "a fine public servant and an even better friend. He was dedicated to the levee board and a wonderful steward of the public's money."
A pilot
, Keahey founded a crop dusting company, Keahey Flying Service, in 1964. The firm remains operational under the direction of Keahey's son, Drew Keahey, also of Columbia. Keahey previously served as president of both the Louisiana and National agricultural aviation associations, and Drew has headed the Louisiana association.
Jack Keahey also built his own boat. He was a former member and president of the Caldwell Parish School Board. He was also affiliated with the Louisiana Pesticide Advisory Committee.
In 1991, Keahey made a failed bid for the statewide position of Louisiana commissioner of agriculture and forestry, having lost to the incumbent
, his fellow Democrat
, Bob Odom
. He ran third and received 146,256 votes (11 percent) to Odom's 824,167 (60 percent). Republican
Don Johnson finished second with 199,688 votes (15 percent). Two other candidates, one Democrat and one Republican, shared the remaining 14 percent of the vote.
and taught Sunday school
there. He died of cancer
. In addition to his mother, who still resided at the time in St. Joseph, and his son Drew and Drew's wife, Becky, Keahey was survived by his wife of a half-century, the former Marie Herring; son, Cash Keahey of Richardson
, Texas
; daughter, Margo Keahey of Gallatin
, Tennessee
, and five grandchildren. His younger brother Farrel Keahey, died in 1994, and is interred in Newellton beside their parents.
Services were held in the First Baptist Church in Columbia. Interment was in the large Columbia Hill Cemetery in Columbia. Keahey's friend, Dave Norris, the mayor
of West Monroe
in Ouachita Parish, wrote in a personal letter that Keahey was "a fine, unselfish public servant — and those are not too common."
Keahey was succeeded as board president by Harris Brown (born ca. 1966) of Monroe, the sitting vice president. Drew Keahey was nominated to fill the seat previously held by his father.
Columbia, Louisiana
Columbia is a town in and the parish seat of Caldwell Parish, Louisiana, United States. The population was 477 at the 2000 census.-Geography:Columbia is located at ....
, the seat of Caldwell Parish, in northeastern Louisiana
Louisiana
Louisiana is a state located in the southern region of the United States of America. Its capital is Baton Rouge and largest city is New Orleans. Louisiana is the only state in the U.S. with political subdivisions termed parishes, which are local governments equivalent to counties...
. He was best known as the president of the Tensas Basin Levee
Levee
A levee, levée, dike , embankment, floodbank or stopbank is an elongated naturally occurring ridge or artificially constructed fill or wall, which regulates water levels...
Board. Having joined the district in 1992, he served as its president from 2000 until his death.
Background
Keahey was born to Jack Keahey, Sr. (1908-1995), and the former Rayma Lorena George (1912-2011) in St. JosephSt. Joseph, Louisiana
St. Joseph is a town in and the parish seat of Tensas Parish in northeastern Louisiana, United States. The population was 1,340 at the 2000 census. The town is 69 percent African American. St. Joseph is the entry community to Lake Bruin State Park located on Lake Bruin, a relatively clear oxbow...
, the seat of Tensas Parish, located adjacent to the Mississippi River
Mississippi River
The Mississippi River is the largest river system in North America. Flowing entirely in the United States, this river rises in western Minnesota and meanders slowly southwards for to the Mississippi River Delta at the Gulf of Mexico. With its many tributaries, the Mississippi's watershed drains...
in northeastern Louisiana. The senior Keahey relocated to Louisiana from Cairo
Cairo, Illinois
Cairo is the southernmost city in the U.S. state of Illinois. It is the county seat of Alexander County. Cairo is located at the confluence of the Mississippi and Ohio rivers. The rivers converge at Fort Defiance State Park, an American Civil War fort that was commanded by General Ulysses S. Grant...
, Illinois
Illinois
Illinois is the fifth-most populous state of the United States of America, and is often noted for being a microcosm of the entire country. With Chicago in the northeast, small industrial cities and great agricultural productivity in central and northern Illinois, and natural resources like coal,...
, to assist in the construction of the Mississippi River levee. Rayma Keahey's family moved from Yell County
Yell County, Arkansas
Yell County is a county located in the U.S. state of Arkansas. As of 2010, the population was 22,185. The county has two county seats, Dardanelle and Danville...
in northern Arkansas
Arkansas
Arkansas is a state located in the southern region of the United States. Its name is an Algonquian name of the Quapaw Indians. Arkansas shares borders with six states , and its eastern border is largely defined by the Mississippi River...
to Newellton
Newellton, Louisiana
Newellton is a town in northern Tensas Parish in the northeastern part of the U.S. state of Louisiana. The population is 1,227 in the 2010 census, a decline of 255 from 2000. Newellton is some 65 percent African American. It is just west of the Mississippi River on Lake St. Joseph, an ox-bow lake....
in northern Tensas Parish. Interest in levees hence spanned two generation of Keaheys.
Levee district
Keahey was a visible spokesman for his levee district operation, which earned repeated "Outstanding Maintenance Awards" from the United States Army Corps of EngineersUnited States Army Corps of Engineers
The United States Army Corps of Engineers is a federal agency and a major Army command made up of some 38,000 civilian and military personnel, making it the world's largest public engineering, design and construction management agency...
. The Tensas district appeared strong amid questions having been raised about the preparedness of other levee districts in the wake of Hurricanes Katrina
Hurricane Katrina
Hurricane Katrina of the 2005 Atlantic hurricane season was a powerful Atlantic hurricane. It is the costliest natural disaster, as well as one of the five deadliest hurricanes, in the history of the United States. Among recorded Atlantic hurricanes, it was the sixth strongest overall...
and Rita
Hurricane Rita
Hurricane Rita was the fourth-most intense Atlantic hurricane ever recorded and the most intense tropical cyclone ever observed in the Gulf of Mexico. Rita caused $11.3 billion in damage on the U.S. Gulf Coast in September 2005...
.
"I would say that we're the best run district in the state. We ought to be the model. Our board welcomes any scrutiny and will pass the test." Keahey told the Monroe News Star
Monroe News Star
The News-Star is the principal newspaper of Monroe and northeastern Louisiana. Its circulation area ranges over some dozen parishes from Ruston, the seat of Lincoln Parish, on the west, to Tallulah in Madison Parish on the east, to the Arkansas state line on the north, and to Ferriday in Concordia...
in 2006. John Stringer, the Tensas Levee District executive director, told the News-Star that Keahey was "a fine public servant and an even better friend. He was dedicated to the levee board and a wonderful steward of the public's money."
A pilot
Aviator
An aviator is a person who flies an aircraft. The first recorded use of the term was in 1887, as a variation of 'aviation', from the Latin avis , coined in 1863 by G. de la Landelle in Aviation Ou Navigation Aérienne...
, Keahey founded a crop dusting company, Keahey Flying Service, in 1964. The firm remains operational under the direction of Keahey's son, Drew Keahey, also of Columbia. Keahey previously served as president of both the Louisiana and National agricultural aviation associations, and Drew has headed the Louisiana association.
Jack Keahey also built his own boat. He was a former member and president of the Caldwell Parish School Board. He was also affiliated with the Louisiana Pesticide Advisory Committee.
In 1991, Keahey made a failed bid for the statewide position of Louisiana commissioner of agriculture and forestry, having lost to the incumbent
Incumbent
The incumbent, in politics, is the existing holder of a political office. This term is usually used in reference to elections, in which races can often be defined as being between an incumbent and non-incumbent. For example, in the 2004 United States presidential election, George W...
, his fellow Democrat
Democratic Party (United States)
The Democratic Party is one of two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Republican Party. The party's socially liberal and progressive platform is largely considered center-left in the U.S. political spectrum. The party has the lengthiest record of continuous...
, Bob Odom
Bob Odom
Robert Fulton "Bob" Odom is the former Democratic Commissioner of Agriculture and Forestry in the U.S. state of Louisiana, who served from 1980-2008. Now in the private sector, Odom operates a consulting company to work with farmers on a statewide and national basis. He offers input on farm...
. He ran third and received 146,256 votes (11 percent) to Odom's 824,167 (60 percent). Republican
Republican Party (United States)
The Republican Party is one of the two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Democratic Party. Founded by anti-slavery expansion activists in 1854, it is often called the GOP . The party's platform generally reflects American conservatism in the U.S...
Don Johnson finished second with 199,688 votes (15 percent). Two other candidates, one Democrat and one Republican, shared the remaining 14 percent of the vote.
Death
Keahey was a founding member of the Columbia Church of ChristChurch of Christ
Churches of Christ are autonomous Christian congregations associated with one another through common beliefs and practices. They seek to base doctrine and practice on the Bible alone, and seek to be New Testament congregations as originally established by the authority of Christ. Historically,...
and taught Sunday school
Sunday school
Sunday school is the generic name for many different types of religious education pursued on Sundays by various denominations.-England:The first Sunday school may have been opened in 1751 in St. Mary's Church, Nottingham. Another early start was made by Hannah Ball, a native of High Wycombe in...
there. He died of cancer
Cancer
Cancer , known medically as a malignant neoplasm, is a large group of different diseases, all involving unregulated cell growth. In cancer, cells divide and grow uncontrollably, forming malignant tumors, and invade nearby parts of the body. The cancer may also spread to more distant parts of the...
. In addition to his mother, who still resided at the time in St. Joseph, and his son Drew and Drew's wife, Becky, Keahey was survived by his wife of a half-century, the former Marie Herring; son, Cash Keahey of Richardson
Richardson, Texas
Richardson is a city in Dallas and Collin Counties in the U.S. state of Texas. As of the 2010 census, the city had a total population of 99,223. In 2011 the population was estimated to be 107,684. Richardson is an affluent inner suburb of Dallas and home of the Telecom Corridor with a high...
, Texas
Texas
Texas is the second largest U.S. state by both area and population, and the largest state by area in the contiguous United States.The name, based on the Caddo word "Tejas" meaning "friends" or "allies", was applied by the Spanish to the Caddo themselves and to the region of their settlement in...
; daughter, Margo Keahey of Gallatin
Gallatin, Tennessee
Gallatin is a city in and the county seat of Sumner County, Tennessee, United States, along a navigable tributary of the Cumberland River. The population was 23,230 at the 2000 census. Named for U.S...
, Tennessee
Tennessee
Tennessee is a U.S. state located in the Southeastern United States. It has a population of 6,346,105, making it the nation's 17th-largest state by population, and covers , making it the 36th-largest by total land area...
, and five grandchildren. His younger brother Farrel Keahey, died in 1994, and is interred in Newellton beside their parents.
Services were held in the First Baptist Church in Columbia. Interment was in the large Columbia Hill Cemetery in Columbia. Keahey's friend, Dave Norris, the mayor
Mayor
In many countries, a Mayor is the highest ranking officer in the municipal government of a town or a large urban city....
of West Monroe
West Monroe, Louisiana
West Monroe is a city in Ouachita Parish, Louisiana, United States. The population was 13,250 at the 2000 census. It is part of the Monroe Metropolitan Statistical Area....
in Ouachita Parish, wrote in a personal letter that Keahey was "a fine, unselfish public servant — and those are not too common."
Keahey was succeeded as board president by Harris Brown (born ca. 1966) of Monroe, the sitting vice president. Drew Keahey was nominated to fill the seat previously held by his father.