Olson Burke-Sullivan Funeral And Cremation Center

Obituary Detail

April 22, 1939 December 05, 2022
April 22, 1939 -- December 05, 2022

Arlene T. Keehn, Age:83

Arlene T.  (Andrews) Keehn

Born: April 22, 1939, in Chicago, Illinois

Died:  December 5, 2022, in Chicago, Illinois

Arlene was the first daughter and the second of three children born to Casmir and Billie Andrews.  She grew up on Tripp Avenue in the North Mayfair neighborhood of Chicago.  She was a 1953 graduate of John M. Palmer grade school and in 1957 graduated Amundsen high school.  At age 18 she met her future husband John H. Keehn at a restaurant at the corner of Lawrence and Western Avenues.  They married on September 5, 1959, at St. Benedicts Church and honeymooned in the Poconos. 

They welcomed their first son Steve in January 1961 and their second son Johnny in July 1963.  In the beginning of their marriage, they lived in an apartment on Montrose Avenue across from Welles Park.  Later they moved in with her parents for a few years on Tripp Avenue to save money for their first home which ended up being two doors down from her parents.  When her children were very young, she worked nights part-time at Bankers Life & Casualty to be home during the day for her kids.  In 1976, they moved to their second home on Pensacola Avenue where they hosted many parties with friends and family.  In 1993, John and Arlene moved to their final home, a condo, on Eastwood Avenue.

In July 1987, at the age of 48, she suffered a brain aneurysm and stroke that paralyzed her left side and changed the direction of the family’s lives forever.  For many years her husband John was her primary caregiver along with help from her children.  Special thanks are given to her first in-home caregiver Elzbieta Bright and to her final in-home caregiver Sandra.  As a convalescent Arlene, became a huge soap opera fan of the Young and the Restless and enjoyed reading Soap Opera Digest.  She spent her mornings reading the Chicago Sun Times.  Afternoons watching her soaps, and late evenings flipping the TV channels to various old movies and TV shows often driving us nuts switching between TV stations every 3-5 minutes during family visits.  She also loved to watch the Chicago Bears, Sweetness and Mike Ditka.  After ever game she would call her sons and say either “Yeah Bears or Go Bears” after a win and “Boo” after a loss. 

Arlene and John were married for 61 years at the time of his death in April 2021.  After his death she moved into Fairmont Care.  Arlene passed away peacefully in hospice after a short illness in the presence of her loving daughter-in-law, and dear friend Debra Sue.  Arlene’s life changed in many ways due to the stroke, and she dealt with those changes with such courage and bravery that we can never understand.  The stroke didn’t allow Arlene to spoil her grandchildren the way most grandmas do, but she always, always asked how the boys/girls were doing, attended their school functions and sporting events when the grandkids were little. 

Arlene was blessed to have a small group of dear lady friends who called themselves the “Hooters” that came to visit her monthly after her stroke, for cake and coffee.  Sadly, those visits stopped when Covid came around, but the phone calls continued.  Many thanks are given to the care givers at Fairmont Care and the hospice health care workers at Swedish Hospital in Chicago. 

She is preceded in death by her parents Casmir and Billie Andrews, sister Janet Conley and husband John.  She is survived by her brother Bob Andrews, sons Steve (Debra Sue) Keehn and John (Margaret) Keehn, grandkids Max, Ross, Lindsey and Julie Keehn, and a large extended family of Keehns and Andrews. 

A Celebration of Life will be held at Olson Burke Sullivan Funeral & Cremation Center at 6467 N. Northwest Highway in Chicago on Saturday, January 21 from 1-4 p.m.

In lieu of flowers donations can be made in her name at the American Stroke Association, a division of the American Heart Association, at www.stroke.org.

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