Born: June 28, 1911
Died: May 11, 1981
Married: Mildred Sweeney Keough
Children: Ronald B. Keough, Mrs. Richard (Patricia) Estes, Mrs. Stephen (Jeanne) Callaghan
Eugene P. Keough was the founder of the Keough and Son Funeral Home.
Adirondack Daily Enterprise, May 11, 1981
Eugene Keough dies at 69
SARANAC LAKE - Eugene P. Keough, 69, former owner of the Keough and Son Funeral Home and well-known civic leader in the community, died last evening, May 10, at the General Hospital of Saranac Lake.
He was born June 28, 1911, in Saranac Lake, the son of John and Alice (Duprey) Keough. Mr. Keough had been a lifelong resident of Saranac Lake, a graduate of the local high school, and later, a graduate, with blue ribbon honors, from Simmon's School of Embalming in Syracuse in 1932.
A funeral director in Saranac Lake for over 50 years, Mr. Keough had-worked for the Henry J. Conley Funeral Home from 1930 to 1935. Upon Mr. Conley's death in 1936, he managed the funeral home until 1944, when he purchased it. From 1944 to 1957 he operated the business as the Keough Memorial Chapel.
His son, Ronald, joined the business in 1957, and the business became known as the Keough and Son Funeral Home. Mr. Keough retired in 1981 because of ill health. He had also owned and operated a community ambulance service from 1949 to 1956.
He was a charter member and first secretary-treasurer of the Saranac Lake Lions Club.
Mr. Keough had helped to reorganize the Saranac Lake Chamber of Commerce after World War II and was a past president and member of the board of directors of the organization.
He was also a member and past president of the North Star Funeral Home Directors Association and a member and former state director of the New York State Funeral Directors Association.
He served on the New York State Advisory Board to the governor from 1953 to 1957.
He was a member of the Saranac Lake Knights of Columbus, third and fourth degree; the Saranac Lake Lions Club; St. Bernard's Church; and the Saranac Lake Boat and Waterways Club.
In 1976, he was elected king of the Saranac Lake Winter Carnival in recognition of his contributions to the community.
Survivors include his wife, the former Mildred Sweeney of Troy, whom he married Jan. 5, 1933 at St. Mary's Church, Troy; one son, Ronald B. Keough of Saranac Lake; two daughters, Mrs. Richard (Patricia) Estes of Wahpeton, N.D., and Mrs. Stephen (Jeanne) Callaghan of Port Leyden; his mother, Mrs. John Keough, a resident of Uihlein Mercy Center in Lake Placid; a brother, Charles, of Saranac Lake; 11 grandchildren; and aunts, uncles, nieces and nephews.
Calling hours will be today from 7 to 9 p.m., and again tomorrow from 2 to 4 and 7 to 9 p.m., at the Keough and Son Funeral Home.
A third degree K of C service will be held tonight at 7:45 at the funeral home.
The Lion's Club will conduct a memorial service tomorrow at 8:15 p.m., at the funeral home. A scriptural memorial service will follow at 8:45.
A Mass of Christian Burial will be held Wednesday at 11:15 a.m., at St. Bernard's Church.
Burial will be in St. Bernard's Cemetery.
Senior Outlook, the Saranac Lake Adult Center monthly newsletter, September 2014
Random Thoughts, Generation 2
"More than just numbers"
By Ron Keough
. . . My Dad [Eugene Keough] was born in 1911. That is the same year Henry J. Conley came to Saranac Lake for his health and opened the Conley Funeral Home on Bloomingdale Ave. (where Sturdy's is now). As a teenager, beefing up for high school football, my Dad worked on the construction of the new Conley Funeral Home, on the corner of Academy and St. Bernard St. Address then, 20 St. Bernard Street. The then address to the residence was 23 Academy Street. As near as we can figure, the construction was between 1926 and 1928. In 1936, my Dad went to work for Mr. Conley. That is the year I was born. The building next door on St. Bernard St. was 18 St. Bernard St. . . . 166 Lake Flower Ave. [was] my Grandmother Keough's, the Keough Motel [now the Mountain Lake Inn]. My Dad purchased the Conley Funeral Home in 1944 and we moved in Feb. 8, 1944. Calling hours were often three days from 6 AM to 11 PM, and house wakes were still the tradition. . . .
