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Submitted: 7/9/21 • Approved: 7/9/21 • Last Updated: 7/12/21 • R435087-G435085-S3
Charles C.
1886-1972
Iva Florence
1880-1967
Photo/information, courtesy of Edith Guynes Stanley
*Obituary Charles C.
Funeral services for C.C. "Charlie" Keech, 85, a longtime Borger resident, will be at 2 p.m. Monday in the First Presbyterian Church.
The Rev. Robert Presnall, pastor, will officiate.
Burial will be in Highland Park Cemetery by Minton Mortuary.
Mr. Keech, who was known throughout the Southwest as "Grand Old Man of the Oil Industry," died at 11 p.m. Friday at North Plains Hospital.
He was a retired drilling contractor and had lived in this area since 1925.
A native of Pleasantville, Pa., he heard about the new field opening here and left his work in the oil fields of Ohio to come to the southwest.
He met his wife, the late Iva Florence Keech, in Oklahoma, and they were married Jan. 16, 1912, in Nowata, Okla. They resided in Skiatook, Okla., from 1918 until they came to Borger in 1925. They resided at Skia-Tex camp until they built a home at 303 W. Grand, where they lived until Iva's death in 1967.
Mr. Keech drilled the first well for J.R. Phillips in 1925, making a name for himself as one of the area's outstanding drillers. In 1941, he went into business for himself, with E.D. Baker as his partner in Baker & Keech, Inc., a drilling company. Throughout his life here, he had given dedicated service to the community, in volunteer efforts.
He has been honored time and again by organizations and associations connected with the industry, as an outstanding contributor to the petroleum and allied industries.
Mr. Keech, who was in failing health, was confined to his apartment at Borger Motor Hotel. Known by many as the "First Man of Borger," Mr. Keech celebrated his 85th birthday Sept. 4, 1971.
He was one of the few persons to see Borger evolve from a boom town to an All-America city.
He was a member of the Borger Shrine Association, the Skiatook Masonic Lodge, the Khiva Temple, a life member of Guthrie Consistory, and the Borger Elks Lodge No. 1581.
Casket bearers will be Mark Fahle, R.E. Sharpe, Don Baker, Phil Phillips, Cecil Darden, R.E. Haynes, Sr., C.W. Haddock, Bob Dawson and Junior Denny. Area Masons will serve as honorary casketbearers.
Members of the Borger Isom Lodge are asked to meet one hour before the funeral at the lodge.
He will lie in state at the funeral home, until an hour before the services. The casket will not be opened at the church.
Survivors include his sister, Mrs. V.D. Raymond, Jamestown, N.Y.; several nieces and nephews including Mrs. Delee Bland, Flat Rock, Ill., and Mrs. Norma Duncan, Tulsa, Okla.
(Published in Borger News Herald, March 5, 1972)
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Oklahoma, County Marriage Records, 1890-1995
Name: Charles C Keech
Gender: Male
Age: 28
Birth Date: abt 1884
Marriage Date: 16 Jan 1912
Marriage Place: Nowata, Oklahoma, USA
Spouse: Iva Milliron
Film Number: 001305664
Texas, Death Index, 1903-2000
Name: Charles Keech
Death Date: 3 Mar 1972
Death County: Hutchinson
Gender: Male
Marital Status: Widowed
Texas, Death Certificates, 1903-1982
Name: Charles Cornwell Keech
Gender: Male
Race: White
Age: 85
Birth Date: 4 Sep 1886
Birth Place: Pennsylvania
Residence: Borger, Hutchinson, Texas, USA
Death Date: 3 Mar 1972
Death Place: Borger, Hutchinson, Texas, USA
Father: George Keech
*Obituary Iva
BORGER - Funeral services for Mrs. Iva Florence Keech, 86, a Borger resident since 1926, were held this morning in the First Presbyterian Church.
The Rev. Roy Byrd, pastor, officiated. Burial was in Highland Park Cemetery.
Mrs. Keech died Saturday at North Plains Hospital here.
She was a member of the First Presbyterian Church, the 20th Century Club and the Borger Order of the Eastern Star.
She is survived by her husband, Charles.
(Published in The Amarillo Globe-Times (Amarillo, Potter, Texas) - 16 May 1967, Tue - Page 31)
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Ohio, County Marriage Records, 1774-1993
Name: Iva Milliron
Gender: Female
Marriage Date: 12 Sep 1897
Marriage Place: Wood, Ohio, USA
Spouse: Frederick Helberger
Film Number: 002424593
Oklahoma, County Marriage Records, 1890-1995
Name: Iva Milliron
Gender: Female
Age: 29
Birth Date: abt 1883
Marriage Date: 16 Jan 1912
Marriage Place: Nowata, Oklahoma, USA
Spouse: Charles C Keech
Film Number: 001305664
Texas, Death Index, 1903-2000
Name: Iva Keech
Death Date: 13 May 1967
Death County: Hutchinson
Gender: Female
Texas, Death Certificates, 1903-1982
Name: Iva Florence Keech
[Iva Florence Milliron]
Gender: Female
Race: White
Age: 86
Birth Date: 18 Nov 1880
Birth Place: Ohio
Residence: Borger, Hutchinson, Texas, USA
Death Date: 13 May 1967
Death Place: Borger, Hutchinson, Texas, USA
Father: Calab Milliron
Contributed on 7/9/21
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Record #: 435087