William Henry Keiper, Sr.
August 16, 1947 - May 25, 2019
William Henry Keiper, Sr., age 71, of St. Georges, DE, beloved husband, dad, poppop and friend to many, departed this life quietly at home on Saturday, May 25, 2019, after a recent hard fought battle with cancer.
Born in Wilmington on August 16, 1947, he was the youngest child of the late Paul and Martha (Carpenter) Keiper. He was also preceded in death by his sister, Harriet and infant granddaughter, Misty.
Bill started his young life as an Army private in the Vietnam War and in recent years was able to have people thank him for his service which gave him great pride. He worked various jobs throughout life but most notable among them as a pipefitter with Wilmington Sheet Metal, as a maintenance mechanic at Ciba Specialty Chemicals, and lastly before fully retiring as a tech with Lawall Prosthetics and Orthotics. He made friends in all those places and valued those connections as he moved on to other roads.
Besides his family his friends and neighbors were the center of his entire universe. His favorite past times included crabbing trips and eating crabs. the annual purple martin and blue bird arrivals, planting the garden to get the first tomato, playing cards with the guys, watching the Phillies and Eagles, and just wandering the neighborhood and taking a no destination ride to pass the time.
He was the special person that we all needed to share our joys, support us in sadness, and just love us through anything. The love of each other’s lives, he lived a journey for 44 years with wife, Betty Jo (Deputy) Keiper. He will be dearly missed by his children, William Keiper Jr, Brooke Carr (Shaun), Nickie Morneau (Jeff), and Lori Morgan; his grandchildren, Lyndsey Filbey, Joey Talamo, Luke Morgan, Dylan Morgan, Brent Markle, Molly Morneau, Maddie Morneau, Asher Carr and Ezra Carr; his sister, Martha Austin; and a host of cousins, nieces and nephews along with his in-law families that he became so much a part of. His loyal dog, Morley will continue to be the neighborhood reminder of the love of a man and his pet. Knowing that great grandson, Baby Filbey would be joining the brood in November he will be smiling down upon his arrival.
We want to thank the special friends and neighbors whose unwavering support helped him and us through these last months. It meant the world to all of us.
A visitation for family and friends will be held from 11 am until 1 pm on Saturday, June 1, 2019, at Spicer-Mullikin Funeral Home, 275 East Main Street, Middletown, DE, where a funeral service will begin at 1 pm. Interment will be held at 10 am on Monday, June 3, 2019, in Delaware Veterans Memorial Cemetery, 2465 Chesapeake City Road, Bear, DE.
Always the center of family and friend gatherings, everyone has a story to tell. There will be a board at the service for you to tack a picture, a note to share a memory, or just leave condolences on the website. Those are the memories that will help us remember as he was and make us smile more.
In lieu of flowers, please make a donation to your favorite charity, those supporting pets are especially dear to him. Also, donations can be made to St. Georges United Methodist Church in St. Georges, DE 19733.
Judy E Deputy-Foor
Betty Jo & family,
Fondly known as Uncle, you will always be in our hearts,& all those times we spent in laughter, shared a few years through the years… precious are so the memories….
Fondly in love (as you commonly referred to me as ‘Hey Sister-In-Law’)
God Bless You With All The Peace & know as you look down upon all,
We love You, Judy
Judy E Deputy-Foor
Please excuse my typo: “shared a few years” , correction: “shared a few tears through the years”… Regardless, we all are blessed with our memories throughout the years.. God Bless…. Judy
Lee Slattery
Thinking of you & praying for all of your family.
Love always,
Lee, Jenn & Matt
Erica Griffin
Dear Brooke & Shaun
I’m sorry to hear about the passing of your beloved father; please know
you and your family are in my prayers.
Grace Pulci
BJ, we were so sorry to hear of the passing of your husband, William. We are all thinking and praying for you.
From all of us at Veolia Customer Service,
Grace Pulci
Vonda Lee
Lottie Riley
Jody Baer
Lena Thompson
Maria Pascetta
John Mangan
Jim Murphy
Betty Jo and Family,
So sorry for your loss and remembering the good memories I and many others shared with Billy in our school years together in Delaware City.
Jim Murphy
Marcos Vega
All our love to the Keiper family.
Un cariñoso abrazo para BJ.
Fam. Vega Gutiérrez
Walt Taplin
I’m sad to hear of your loss. Bill was one of the good guys.
KEVIN KELLY
My sympathy and prayers to all of the Keiper family especially Brooke and Bill ‘junior’ as I knew your father through the two of you – siblings and friends in school and in sports and now hard working adults sharing your love with your extended family as you learned from your mom and dad. God bless you all with the most fond memories and lessons you learned from him.
Ellie Laws
Betty Jo and Family,
So very sorry for your loss and difficult times leading up to it.
Ellie Laws
(Yvonne’s friend)
Re & Mike Smith
Dear BJ,
So sorry to hear about your loss. Bill was a great guy and will be missed. Our thoughts and prayers are with you and your family.
Love, Re & Mike
Earl Jones
Just heard of Bill’s passing. What a great loss! He was always friendly and fun at Gunning Bedford H. S.