Obituary of Wilbur Edward Keck

Warner Robins, GA: Wilbur H. Keck, 83, retired Air Force pilot, ex-prisoner of war, loving husband, father and grandfather, died Sunday, November 26, 2006. The family will receive visitors from 6 until 8 PM, Tuesday, November 28th, at the Heritage Memorial Funeral Home in Warner Robins. The funeral will be held at 10:00 AM, Wednesday, November 29th in the funeral home chapel. Mr. Keck will be interred at Andersonville National Cemetery with his first wife, Susie. Mr. Keck was born October 17, 1923, in Coalport, PA. He graduated from Doyletown High School in 1941, and joined the Army Air Corps. Mr. Keck served as a co-pilot of a B-17 in World War II. His plane, Superstitious Aloysius, was shot down during his second mission in 1944. Mr. Keck was captured and spent 11 months as a prisoner of war in Barth, Germany. He also saw combat in the Korean Conflict as a pilot of a B-25, completing 55 missions. Following his combat service, Mr. Keck earned his Bachelors Degree at George Washington University. He pursued a second career in force deployment management both in active duty, and in civil service for the Air Force Reserve, retiring in 1986 as Director of Manpower. After retirement, Mr. Keck continued to serve his country in the ex-POWs, and was instrumental in establishing the National Prisoners of War Museum at Andersonville, Georgia. Mr. Keck was a lifetime member of the Daedalian Association, the Air Force Asociation and the MOAA. Mr. Keck is survived by his second wife Lolly Walker Keck, to whom he was married for 6 loving years. He was a loving husband of 51 years to his first wife Susie McNair Keck. Mr. Keck is also survived by his children Suzanna Laird and Richard, his stepsons John and Rob Walker, and his grandchildren Christopher and Bart Laird, and Elizabeth, William and Kathy Keck.