Keith Warren Skinner, 70 peacefully passed away June 11, 2022, at his home with his loving wife by his side. Keith was born on October 3, 1951, to Everette and Evelyn Skinner in Council Bluffs IA. Keith was a resident of Council Bluffs his entire life; he graduated from Abraham Lincoln in 1970 (after getting kicked out of TJ 😊 – which was a story he shared often).
Keith Skinner was a family man; he met and fell in love with Linda in 1985 and the kids stole his heart. Keith’s life changed from a life of his own, to one centered around Linda and the kids. Family vacations always had a special place in his heart, and he would always make sure everyone had a good time and could experience the places he was not able to as a kid.
Despite Keith’s objections, Linda made him travel the world. Keith enjoyed being home, but he learned to like to travel and due to Linda’s persistence, he became her companion traveler. Traveling together they touched all parts of the world.
Keith had several hobbies, but none defined Keith more than music and cars. He loved the Beatles, especially John Lennon. Corvettes had a special place in his heart, he owned several: a 2019 Grand Sport, 1964 StingRay, 2004 C5. Keith also enjoyed spending his time golfing at the Council Bluffs Country Club, bowling, and fishing.
Keith was a lover of “stuff”; he had 2 or 3 of everything one could think of – every gizmo or gadget under the sun! When he figured out online shopping the Amazon packages started coming frequently, despite Linda’s objections.
He was an entrepreneur, by default. After his first job he knew he could never work for anyone, so he started his own business. Bluffs Sewing and Vacuum was a staple in the Council Bluffs community and continues to live on to this day. He was the owner of the first Oreck Franchise store that he built into a multi-store business.
If you stopped out at Keith’s and Linda in the past few years, I am sure you were lambasted by a herd of dogs. Keith loved dogs from his show quality Dobermans to his most recent boxer Maggie and all the dogs in between – even his grand-dogs.
Anyone who spent time with Keith knew that he had a unique ability to view all moments as teachable and never let one pass by, good or bad, without taking a lesson from it. He always found a way to make each life lesson relatable to anyone he wished to impart his wisdom, particularly his grandkids.
If you take anything from how Keith lived, always remember that he found a way to love everyone and saw beauty in everything. He had a great sense of humor. He deeply cherished and loved Linda, Aaron, Shana, Jason, Laura, and all the grandkids and cherished happy moments. He valued his relationships and cared deeply for all his friends (too many to name). Cancer may have taken Keith from us too soon, but cancer cannot take our memories, stories, experiences that Keith made special to all of us.
“Wherever you go, there you are” ~Keith Warren Skinner
Keith was preceded in death by his parents, Everette and Evelyn Skinner, Sisters Evva Lynn and Janette Lines. He is survived by his loving wife Linda and four children: Aaron (Jaime) Mailey, Shana (Dave) Craven, Jason (Rachael) Mailey, Laura (Jason) Mayer, 12 grandchildren and 2 great grandchildren; brother Gayle (Lynette) Skinner, Debbie (Randy) Johnansen, several nieces and cousins.
Visitation is on Wednesday June 15th, 2022, from 5:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. at the Hoy-Kilnoski Funeral Home. Memorial service is on Thursday, June 16, 2022, 10:00 a.m. at the funeral home. In lieu of flowers, memorials are suggested to Wings of Hope or Methodist Estabrook Cancer Center.