John "Jack" S. Keating Jr.

John Stuart Keating, Jr (“Jack”) of Ipswich, MA, passed away, Sunday February 23rd, 2020, at The Kaplan Family Hospice House in Danvers, MA at age 87 after a long battle with Mesothelioma.

Jack was born on April 25, 1932 in Waterbury, CT. He spent his early years moving around the country as the son of a naval captain. At age 11 he left Key West, FL by train-alone!-for Brooks School in North Andover, MA. The youngest student ever to attend Brooks, he led the way for his brothers (and eventually daughter and nephew). Brooks remained an incredibly important part of his life until his death. From 1946-47 Jack and his family lived in Tsing Tao, China, an experience he carried with him throughout his life. Jack graduated from the ROTC program at Northwestern University in 1954, but forever remained a devoted Wildcat football fan, and was a “Life-Loyal Sig” (Sigma Chi fraternity). After Northwestern, he spent 1954-57 as a Lieutenant Junior Grade in the Navy on the U.S.S. Stickell (DD-888). He married Carolyn Frey of Chicago, IL in 1954 and they had two children, Karen and John. In 1970, he married Suzanne Banks of Portland OR, and had three more children, Katie, Tim, and Shannon.

Though he was a highly accomplished entrepreneur and real estate developer serving as President of U.S. Land Company for 15 years, then broker and developer for numerous other commercial real estate ventures, Jack’s #1 job was his family. There was no more devoted father or grandfather. He had a special brand of humor that charmed children, and always put his family’s needs at the top of his list.

Jack was predeceased by his wife Suzanne Banks Keating, his brother Timothy Edward Keating, and his sister Karen Keating Graves. He is survived by his children, Karen Keating Ansara (Essex, MA), John Stuart Keating III (Danvers, MA), Catherine Anne Keating (Brooklyn, NY), Timothy Edward Keating (Schaumburg, IL), Shannon LaRoche Keating (Portland, OR); his brother, Michael Burns Keating (Boston, MA); and his grandchildren, Michael Keating Ansara (Beverly, MA), Lucia Keating Ansara (Pennington, NJ), Alicia Mercedes Keating Ansara and Maria Carolina Keating Ansara (Essex, MA), John Francis Xavier Timoney and Louise Banks Timoney (Brooklyn, NY), and Henry Keating Grice (Portland, OR).

A graveside service will be held at Evergreen Cemetery in Barrington, IL on Saturday February 29, 2020 at 11:30 am.

A memorial service will be held at Brooks School in North Andover, MA at a later date.

In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to The Brooks Fund for Financial Aid https://www.brooksschool.org/giving .