Initiated 09/16/1960
Passed 10/21/1960
Raised 11/18/1960 (58 years)
Died February 17 , 2018
ONEONTA - Keith Preston went to be with his Lord on Feb. 17, 2018.
He was born to Leona (Hutchinson) and Darrell Preston and grew up in Johnstown, along with five brothers, Ralph (deceased), Merton (deceased), Ted (deceased), Ronald and Darrell Jr., who all went on to raise families of their own.
Keith Preston was a husband to Cynthia (Westcott) for more than 65 years; a father to Leslie, Wendy (Dulin), Scott and Paul; a grandfather to Elizabeth (Dulin) and Harrison (Dulin), Megan (Awong) and Marikate (Groves); and he was great-grandfather to Maggie (Groves).
Over the years, he made many friends. He was a Masonic member for more than 50 years. He taught seventh and eighth grade at Otego and Unatego Schools for 35 years. Keith was a lifelong Giants fan. He shared box seats at the Oneonta Yankee baseball games where he watched rookies play that later would go on to be future greats of the game. He loved a good cup of coffee, black, not modified, and he enjoyed getting together with friends for breakfast on Wednesday mornings at Morey's. Most of his life was spent in Oneonta.
He was a long time member of Saint James' Episcopal Church. He loved to go camping and used those free summer days when he was not teaching to travel about with the family and his Nimrod trailer. Keith served as a commissioner for the Boy Scouts. Because he was not able to be a scout when he was a child, he truly enjoyed this second chance to participate as a member of this organization. Some of his favorite memories were camping with the troop leaders at the Crumhorn Mountain Boy Scout Camp.
Keith was a survivor of illnesses that left him crippled but that could not quench his spirit. He was a good guy and will be greatly missed.