Richard John Keating, affectionately known as “Dick”, of Warren, NJ, passed away at Morristown Medical Center on Sunday, April 28, 2024, at the age of 77, surrounded by family and friends. 

Visitation will be held at Paul Ippolito Summit Memorial, 7 Summit Ave., Summit, NJ on Thursday, May 2nd, from 4-8 PM. The funeral service will be held at United Methodist Church of Summit on Friday, May 3rd, at 11AM.

Born in Summit, NJ on September 24, 1946, Dick was the son of the late Evelyn (nee Soden) and John Keating. He graduated from Summit High School in 1965 and then went on to receive an Associate’s Degree from Leicester College and a Bachelor of Arts in Education from Monmouth University in 1969.

Dick served in the Army National Guard from August, 1970 - June, 1972 when his father passed away, he was honorably discharged to help his sister, Gail, care for his mother, and take over the family business, Keating Roofing. During a break from boot camp, Dick was home in Summit and ran an errand to the bank. It was there that he met his first wife, Susan. Together they raised two daughters, Jennifer and Tara in the hometown he cherished. They spent summers creating family memories, which always included his niece, Megan, and cherished Soden cousins down the shore at their bungalow in Ocean Beach III.

While he was busy as the owner of Keating Roofing, a successful commercial roofing operation throughout north Jersey, Dick also was an active member of the community. He participated in a number of organizations such as the Kiwanis Club, Summit Booster Association, and the United Methodist Church Building Committee, where he donated the Christmas tree every year, including personal delivery and setup. Dick also served on numerous boards in Summit. However, probably his greatest honor was the opportunity to use his background in education to serve as the Summit High School golf coach from 1991-2015, reaching the milestone of 300 wins prior to retiring.

Throughout his life, he loved being active and participating in many sports. He got his start playing in pick-up ice hockey games during the winters at Briant Park. He went on to play at Leicester College; however, his favorite event was the Summit High School alumni game where he was given the title of captain and presented with the winning puck. He loved downhill skiing, body surfing the waves at the Jersey Shore, and he was an avid golfer, most recently as a member of Fox Hollow Golf Club in Branchburg. He loved to watch and support the NY Yankees, the NY Giants (including a standing $1 bet with his son-in-law Michael that they would be have a better record than the NY Jets), NY Rangers, and most recently (thanks to his son-in-law Niall and grandson Liam) Manchester United FC where he initially tolerated and then came to appreciate professional soccer.

He was one of the Summit High School Hilltoppers’ biggest fans attending too many competitions to count. He loved to attend football games and cheer on his friends’ children and grandchildren, where he also was able to support his niece Kim as a cheerleader. When his daughters, Jen and Tara, played soccer, basketball or lacrosse, he never missed a game. Ultimately, Dick’s biggest joy was watching his grandchildren, Liam’s and Maeve’s, soccer, field hockey, and basketball games, and swim and track meets.

Dick was known for his kindness, his serene temperament, his love of dogs, his sense of humor and practical jokes. He was considered a friend and mentor to an immeasurable number of lives. He had a way with people that made everyone feel special. After retiring from Keating Roofing, he continued to work as a commercial roofing consultant in the Summit area. This afforded him the balance of remaining in touch with many work colleagues (many of whom were also close friends), while providing him the time to spend with his friends, either at their twice- weekly dinner dates, Thursday coffee dates, or traveling to see old friends who moved south.

One of Dick’s happiest moments was marrying his wife, friend and companion, Jeanine. Together they constantly cared for and entertained a large extended family, something they both truly loved. He is survived by his beloved wife of 17 years, Jeanine Keating (nee Procopio); his loving daughters, Jennifer Caldwell and her husband Niall; Tara Freeman and her husband Michael; step-children Tara Kajtaniak and her husband Dave; Christopher Nuth and his wife Ann; his cherished grandchildren, Liam and Maeve Caldwell and step-grandchildren, Michael, Kiara and Carter Freeman, Aiden Miele, Benjamin Kajtaniak and Trym And Eirik Nuth; his dear sister Gail Champney, niece Megan Champney-Kweselait; and his little furry side-kick, Kita. Dick will be truly missed by many loving relatives and friends. It is a testament to his life that there are far too many people to list all who knew and loved him.

In lieu of flowers, donations in Dick’s memory may be made to St. Jude Children's Research Hospital 262 Danny Thomas Place, Memphis, TN 38105 or St. Hubert's Animal Welfare Center PO Box 159, 575 Woodland Ave., Madison, NJ 07940