Keith G. Olive Jr.

Keith was born on Aug. 7, 1936, in Sequim, Wash., to Dessie (nee Cooper) and Keith Olive Sr. In his late teens, he gave his heart and life to Christ. He fell in love with Ruth Thomas, much to her father’s dismay, as she was his youngest daughter, and they married shortly thereafter while Keith was home on leave after naval basic training. Keith then was assigned to San Diego Naval Base for his remaining service time. Upon discharge, he and Ruth moved to Tipler, Wis., where they purchased a dairy farm while raising their three children: Brenda, Jim and John. When suppliers would no longer pick-up milk due to the remote location, the family sold the farm and relocated closer to Florence, Wis.

Keith and Ruth were married for 36 wonderful years before her untimely death. As a parent, Keith experienced unfathomable heartbreak when his daughter, Brenda, passed away in a tragic car accident in 1989.

After farming, Keith started a logging company with his oldest son, Jim, called J&K Forest Products of Florence. He loved working with his son and working in the woods. One day, a Florence County Board member asked if he could take a picture of Keith in action as he was cutting down a tree. Many years later while visiting the Wild Rivers Interpretive Center in Florence, he was very surprised to find a life-sized cut-out of himself from the photo that was taken that day.

Keith and Lois met on a blind date and married shortly thereafter. Together, they encouraged each other to serve the Lord and share the gospel at home and abroad. This included multiple trips to Ukraine, Sudan, Armenia, Romania and Mexico, as well as teaching Chinese and Indonesian immigrants English using the Bible.

Keith was a devoted family man, who loved playing cards and dominoes with his family, as well as golfing with his sons and grandsons. He loved to tell stories, assemble puzzles, fish in his dad’s old rowboat and share the gospel with anyone who would listen. He also was a devoted Green Bay Packer fan — a true cheese head who was often spotted proudly wearing his Packer memorabilia. We will greatly miss his bold faith and fun-loving personality!

Keith was preceded in death by his first wife, Ruth; daughter, Brenda; and his parents, Keith Sr. and Dessie.

He is survived by his wife, Lois Olive; brother, Clyde (Diane); and sister, Betty Karle; children, Jim (Linda) and John (Kryslyn), as well as two stepchildren, Laura (Matt Rose) and Julie (Reid Miller). Keith and Lois have 13 grandchildren; 15 great-grandchildren and two great-great-grandchildren.

A celebration of Keith’s life will be held from noon to 1 p.m. on Saturday, Feb. 24, at Jacobs Funeral Home in Iron Mountain. The funeral service will be held at 1 p.m. Pastor Ron Westman will be officiating.

Burial will be in the spring at Woodlawn Cemetery.

Due to a family allergy, the family requests that no flowers be sent.

Friends may leave condolences and tributes to Keith’s family online at www.jacobsfuneralhomes.com.

The family has chosen Jacobs Funeral Home and Cremation Services of Iron Mountain to honor Keith’s legacy of life.