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HomeNewsArchivesFamily, Friends Pay Tribute to Charles Kean Sr.

Family, Friends Pay Tribute to Charles Kean Sr.

June 20, 2005 – The family of Charles Kean Sr. celebrated his life Monday with services at Frederick Lutheran Church on St. Thomas.
Kean, 95, died June 9 at Roy L. Schneider Hospital after a short illness.
His body will be cremated, and the ashes interred next to his parents at Western Cemetery.
One of his sons, former University of the Virgin Islands President Orville Kean, said that his father worked as an accountant for 44 years at the West Indian Co.
When he retired, he was the chief accountant.
The St. Thomas-born Kean is also survived by his wife, Edith, son Carlito Kean and daughter Aline Baily. He had five grandchildren and three great-grandchildren.
Carlito Kean said that his father was the first native Virgin Islander hired to the accountant's position. Previously, the accountants came from Denmark.
Both of his sons remembered their father as a strong disciplinarian.
"He was a person who put discipline, integrity and self-respect above everything else," Carlito Kean said.
Carlito Kean added that his father believed in education. He said that both his father and mother made tremendous sacrifices to make sure their children got an education.
He also remembered his father as a man with a tremendous sense of humor.
"It stayed with him to the end," Carlito Kean said, adding that his father will be missed.
"We're grateful that we've had our parents around," he said.
In a press release, Gov. Charles Turnbull urged the community to honor Charles Kean's memory and life's accomplishments with celebration and thanksgiving.
"The productivity and commitment of Mr. Charles Kean Sr. during his time here on earth as an accountant and devoted father is most noteworthy. A grateful community acknowledges his commendable contributions," the governor said.

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