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Robert Lennie Keeton was born on March 29th, 1950 in Richmond, Virginia; a day said to have "rained mud" due to a dust bowl effect of some kind. Surviving that, as most in the city did, "Bob" went on to live another 73 years before giving way to his next grand adventure on June 18th, 2023. He was preceded in death by his father, Lennie Keeton, mother, Grace Cosby Keeton, and younger brother, Paul. Grace and Paul passed away in 1964, many years too soon, in a plane crash that would greatly influence the trajectory of Bob's life, and that of his sister Lynn.
Bob had two ambitions early in life. Ironically, one of these ambitions was flying and it led to the pursuit of a private pilot's license, and many hours behind the stick. The second was his passion for radio broadcasting, which Bob became a bit more renowned for.
From his earliest post as General Manager of the student radio station at Virginia Tech (Class of '72), to stops in Roanoke, Bristol and Lynchburg, VA, Bob eventually became host of the "Gold Show" on the "40,000 megawatt voice of Virginia", AM1140 WRVA.
While Bob would hold a series of "real" jobs alongside his radio gigs, he retired from the VA Department of Information Technology in 2005 to conclude 32 years of steady work in the videoconferencing arena - before it was cool. That allowed him to focus more on his passion for radio, as he developed and hosted his own talk show, "Living Successfully," first on WRVA and later as one of the first programs on Sirius satellite radio - again, before it was cool. With this platform, he was able to host long form interviews with compelling people and share with his loyal audience.
Bob died before finding all the answers, but he sure did have a way of asking the right questions ... with a voice that encouraged thoughtful response.
Surviving him are Jane Epperson and their three children, Paul Keeton, Jessica Allam, and Sarah Harvey; and seven grandchildren that may not ever know what AM radio is; Beth Peebles; and his sister Lynn Flannagan.
The family is preparing a Celebration of Life to be held in Richmond's Byrd Theatre on July 14th at 3pm.
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Sam Marcuson
I remember Robert from Grade 8. (Did we call him "Robbie" then?) He was a "little guy" who carried a leather brief case and was a funny, likeable, smart ass. We were in the same math, history, English, science and band classes (and possibly phys-ed). Ocasionally, he would address the math teacher (1st period) , Mr. Lerch to the rest of us, as "Dave." At the beginning of science class (5th period), Dr. "Fossil" Friedrich would gobble down a package of Nabs to regulate his sugar. Once Robert blurted out "pass the cheese crackers, Doc." That got a lot of laughs from us but a mild scolding from the teacher. The funniest event, however, was in history class (3rd period) and Robert was really acting up. It was "squirt gun season" and Mr. Cecil, who seemed a humorless teacher, pulled two confiscated squirt guns from his desk drawer and in 10 seconds or less soaked Robert, glasses and all. The class exploded with laughter. Today, this might be called assault. But then it seemed that Robbie had gotten an appropriate comeuppance.
RIP Robert
Irving Brittle
God Lord Bob,
I've known you and Stan Deaner since we were 'lil kids' attending Westover Baptist Church. Grew up together, worked in Radio with you, and was your 'Best Man?!???' at your and Beth's wedding. Speaking to Beth after your passing, I think you were the love of her life.
Robbie Richardson
Connie Stevenson (Gottwald)
So sad to hear of the passing of a kind, humorous and gentle man. Though I didn't know Bob well at Huguenot, I contacted him in 1994 with a request to make a video for my parents' 50th anniversary. He was both professional and personable in this endeavor, meticulous in its execution and generous with his time at his downtown workplace as we spent hours together for a 15-minute result. I still cherish that video/now dvd and the fond memories of creating it together. And let's not forget our 25th HHS reunion from the (now) November Theater broadcast live on Bob's WRVA Gold Show. An evening not to be forgotten - thank you, Bob AND Bruce! Heartfelt condolences to Bob's family and all who knew and loved him.
Beverly Greene (Durrer)
I am so sad to hear of Robert's passing. And yes, he was Robbie, at least during our years at Forest View Elementary School. He was an extraordinary musician and when the Boleros (yes, I looked it up) played at assemblies, we all were witness to his talent. Condolences to his wife, children and his sister, Lynn.
Carol Wright (Benton)
I'm so saddened by Robert Keeton's passing. We must have "met" when we were both on the 1950 Cradle Roll at Westover Baptist Church, and I'm sure we shared toys in the WBC nursery. Then, I knew Robbie throughout our years at Forest View, Crestwood, and Huguenot. I even remember Robbie as a little kid taking tap-dancing lessons at Marion Mease's studio (where his sister Lynn developed into such a beautiful ballerina). We lost touch over the years but reconnected at our 25th HHS reunion and shared birthday wishes every year via this website. Bob was simply a delightful person -- funny and quick-witted with a wonderful outlook on life. Rest in peace, "Robbie."
Carol Wright (Benton)
Bruce Miller
I knew Robert well in high school, and had the great joy of dating his younger sister Lynn my senior year. Robert was a fine guy. In his recent picture, he looks remarkably like his late dad, Lenny, another fine guy. I'll miss Robert, and I'm sorry he's among the many who've left us too soon. --Bruce Miller
David Bates
I knew Bob in elementary and high school, and remember his hilarious sense of humor and his adeptness at sarcasm, which he developed into an art form. One of my fondest memories of Bob occured during high school at a dance held off campus where another high school band was performing. Bob thought the band was so bad that he closed the wall dividers in the room so he would not have to see or hear them any more. Bob, you were a delight to know. May God rest your soul and comfort your loved ones at this time of sorrow.
Britt Mayo
Bob and I shared many common interests, including flying, radio and music. All of these were characterized by having a large subjective component - there was no "right way" to do any of them; rather, it was up to each person to decide how to best pursue them. Not surprisingly, this lead to countless, and sometimes exhaustive, discussions about why one way or the other was good or bad. I know I learned a lot from Bob, and I hope it also worked the other way around. So many Huguenot classmates have made my life better, and Bob was certainly prominent in this regard. We needed more like him in the world, and still do.
Bill Chamberlin
Please excuse the late posting, my wife and I were abroad when we got the email about Robert. He and I met in 8th grade band, and found a mutual interest in the dance band, a large (15 or so of us) jazz ensemble that practiced after school in the band room. The school sort of lost interest in us, so we started practicing at band members houses (how our parents stood that I do not know) and Robert became our manager. We called ourselves The Capris, and started playing for money, to buy more big band arrangements for us to perform. I actually saved the business card:
I played tenor saxophone and have a love of big band music to this day. Our high point was to open for The Continentals, the professional big band in Richmond, at The Area one New Year’s Eve.
As a side note, Robert and I were in Dr. Fredrich’s biology class, and he was lecturing about zygotes. For some reason, Robert told me I was nothing but a zygote, and from then on, he referred to me as “Ziggy” even up to a birthday greeting a couple of years ago. He had a wild sense of humor.
Robert and I both went to Tech, and since our majors were different, we did not see as much of each other. He had a radio show on WUVT (woovit as it was called) and needed a song to start his show, so he came over to my dorm and borrowed my copy of Lou Rawl’s Soulin, and taped “A Whole Lot of Lovin’” to use as his theme song. I still have the record.
He went too soon. I will never forget all the times we had making music. It was wonderful.