Elmer W. “Bud” Keithley, 84, of Seneca, KS, died Sunday, January 11, 2004, at the Nemaha Valley Community Hospital in Seneca.

He was born August 25, 1919, in Pawnee City, NE, the son of Willis Elmer and Augusta Louise Cornelius Keithley. He was raised on a farm south of Seneca and attended Diamond School. He helped on the family farm and the Bernie Kampert farm while he was growing up. Bud was part of the Civilian Conservation Corps camp, Company 2735, from 1936 until 1939 when Nemaha County Lake was established.

In 1941 he was employed by the Union Pacific Railroad for four years out of Axtell, KS. From 1945 to 1953 he worked in the stockyards in Omaha, NE and was a farmhand there. In March of 1953 he began employment for the Kansas Department of Transportation and remained faithfully employed for the KDOT for 32 years until his retirement on December 31, 1985. Bud held the Sub-A Supervisor position for several years in Seneca and had been named as a Supervisor of the year.

He was a member of the United Methodist Church in Seneca. Bud will long be remembered by his family and friends for his quick wit and unconditional love he had for them. He had been in failing health since 1993 when he suffered a heart attack. He did woodworking and was very good at fixing mechanical things.

On October 5, 1941, he married Barbara Jean Goebel in Marysville, KS. They lived in Axtell, Omaha, and made their home in Seneca for the last 50 years. After his retirement, they enjoyed traveling together.

Survivors besides his wife Barbara of the home are two sons, Ronald Keithley of Kansas City and Elmer Keithley of Eudora, KS; four daughters, Linda Haggard, Barbara Enneking, and Joni Feldkamp, all of Seneca, and Jeanne Dorste of Falls City, NE; a special niece they raised, Kate Sanders of Baileyville; a sister, Hilda Levi of Hement, CA; a brother, Raymond Keithley of Underwood, IA; 15 grandchildren; nine great-grandchildren; two step-grandchildren; and a step-great-grandchild.

Besides his parents, he was preceded in death by sisters, Gladys Wilcox, Elsie Spring, Velma Hart, and Virginia Keithley; granddaughters, Lisa Baker on September 1, 2001, Melissa Feldkamp on July 9, 1980, and a grandson, Brent Larkin on August 8, 1974.

Funeral service will be 1 PM Wednesday at the United Methodist Church in Seneca. A visitation will be held from 6 to 8 PM Tuesday at Lauer Funeral Home in Seneca. Burial will be at the Seneca City Cemetery.

Memorials may be given to the Respiratory Department at the Nemaha Valley Community Hospital or to the United Methodist Church in Seneca, and sent in care of the family.