Jacqueline Gourdinne Keevan (Jackie), a devoted wife, mother, grandmother, great grandmother and dear friend, passed away peacefully at home on June 11, 2025, surrounded by her loving husband Clarence (Whitey) and daughter Anne. She was 94 years old. Jackie was born on October 21, 1930, in Liège, Belgium. Liege is an old city with an incredible history in the heart of Europe. She lived in a grand old home with her
grandmother, mother, aunt, sister and a cook. Her father, a photographer, died when she was 2 years old from a disease he contracted in the Belgian Congo. He would travel as a photographer to the Congo as part of safaris organized to view animals, life and the local culture. The family had a photography store in Liege and a Kodak representation, a big company back then. She would walk every day to school and enjoyed swimming at the new school pool with her childhood friend Odette. In May 1940, when she was 10, her life changed as Europe was engulfed in war and the Germans invaded Belgium. On Friday, May 7th German troops arrived in Liege. She always remembered that school was closed that day! In November 1944, the Germans retreated from the advancing American Army finally leaving a battered Liege behind. To survive the
war, they sold nearly everything in the house. But six women endured a terrible period. She remembered traveling through Germany in 1943 in the middle of the war to go to Switzerland to improve her health. She travelled by herself on several trains full of German soldiers and harassed by Allied warplanes. She was 13 years old! When the war ended, the family had to reassess life, work and the future. The USA beckoned as it did to many people after the war. Following her sister, Jackie travelled to America with limited English and boundless curiosity. In the trip to America, while in Norfolk Virginia, Jackie met a blond-blue eyed Navy electrician, Whitey Keevan, and a budding courtship emerged. Sadly, at around that time, while visiting her older sister , Michelle died in a tragic car accident in Virginia. Jackie returned to Liege only to be followed by countless letters from her American friend. Eventually, Whitey made the trip to Liege and they travelled through Belgium going to Brussels, the capital. Whitey made several trips to Liege to convince Jackie to marry him Finally, Whitey proposed and Jackie accepted. They decided to live in America. With one condition…..Jackie couldn't leave her Mother alone in Liege. So Meme came along as part of the package. Jackie and Whitey were married on June 28, 1954 for almost 71 years! Initially they settled in Miami, where Whitey had started working with his father in Frank
Keevan & Son construction building duplexes and apartment buildings. Jackie and Whitey enjoyed fishing trips and being members of the Sports Car Club of America. Whitey and Jackie became Presidents of the club. Jackie was known as an incredible navigator manning the race chronograph and maps. Eventually, because of Whitey's work with the US Navy in Key West they started to look for a place to live in the Keys. Driving around, as newly married couples do, they found their "pied a terre" in Sugarloaf Key. They decided to immediately call the broker and paid the large amount of $5,000 for the plot of land. Being in the construction business, Whitey, along with his Dad, build the family homestead.
Jackie found an architect, settled on a design and they proceeded to build an all wooden beach house of Georgia pine overlooking the ocean. The house was finished in early 1965 and they have lived there ever since. Jackie managed the office and books of Keevan construction. Then life brought three children as Michelle, Patrick and finally Anne were born. Jackie managed the house with the help of Meme and French was regularly spoken at home. The cuisine was European rich in butter, with lots of freshly caught seafood. Sugarloaf Key was remote, but adventurous like the Swiss family Robinson with mangrove forts, boats, horses, turtles, trips to the Dry Tortugas, and all enjoyed a fun family life.
Jackie would drive a very small Porsche 356 to Miami with her three children, Meme and at times three dogs! Every so often she would drive a VW bus full of cement blocks from Miami shaking in the wind as she crossed several bridges. Keevan construction needed
blocks and she managed to procure them. Trips to Europe to see the family where important. They travelled to France in the 1970's
and 80's to see the Famous French cousins as she was the Godmother of her beloved Danielle who still lives near Versailles. Jackie's mother Meme was one of eight children all born in Paris, France. She managed to always keep the French family close to the Keys.
Countless visits, letters, photographs, phone calls and memories kept the family bonds alive. Just this past April, the new generation of French cousins visited Jackie and Whitey in Sugarloaf. As a fresh-water Conch, Jackie was a pillar in the community participating in many
activities, helping friends, and a proud member of the Key West Women's Club and the Garden Club. Jackie's life was marked by quiet acts of kindness, strength in the face of loss, and unwavering devotion to her family. Jacqueline is survived by her beloved husband, Clarence James Keevan; her children, Patrick Frank Keevan (Lynne Courchene Keevan) and Anne Keevan Finch (Carlos Ricardo Francisco Singer); and her cherished grandchildren, Danielle Keevan Pelletier (Jake Pelletier), Allison Keevan Flores (Bryan Flores), Nicholas Allen Finch, Rafe James Halpern (Ashley Halpern), Alexander Hilario Halpern (Jenna Halpern), Luke Michael Halpern, and Terry Williams. She also had three wonderful great grandchildren, Mia Michelle, River Alexander, and Paisley Quinn. She is preceded in death by her parents, Ernest and Emma Gourdinne; her sister, Michelle Gourdinne; and her daughter, Michelle Keevan Halpern (Michael Halpern, who passed away in December 2024). She will be remembered for her elegance, her resilience, and the deep love she gave so freely. A graveside funeral service will be held on June 20, 2025, at 11:00 a.m. at Woodlawn Cemetery (North), located at 3260 SW 8th Street, Miami, Florida. All who knew and loved Jacqueline are welcome to attend and celebrate her remarkable and full life. In lieu of flowers please make donations to The Basilica of Saint Mary Star of
the Sea, Key West, Florida.