Howard "Gus" J. Keefer's Obituary
Howard J. “Gus” Keefer, 87, of Clinton passed away Monday, February 16, 2026 at his home.
Funeral Services will be 12:00 pm (Noon), Saturday, February 28th 2026 at the Clinton Chapel Snell-Zornig Funeral Homes & Crematory. Burial will be in Clinton Lawn Cemetery. Serving as pallbearers will be Randy Cook. Scott Reed, Dave Clark, Joe Hayes, David Barker and Brett Cram. Honorary pallbearers are Bob Krajnovich and Charlie Smith. Military honors will be conducted by the United States Marine Corps and the Clinton AMVETS. Visitation will be from 10:00 am until the service time at the funeral home. Online condolences may be expressed by visiting his obituary at https://www.snellzornig.com.
Howard Joseph Keefer, “Gus”, was born July 24, 1938 in Clinton, Iowa, the son of Jack Hollis and Nellie May (Lingle) Keefer. He married Marcia Lynn Sloppy on April 22, 1961 in Clinton. He attended Lyons High School and Clinton High School. He proudly served in the United States Marine Corps, enlisting when he was 17 years old. During his time in the Marines, he earned his GED. After 3 years in the Marines, he lived in Los Angeles for a year. He then moved to Clinton to work at Lord Baltimore Press for 4 years and joined Amalgamated Lithographers Local 90. Then on to DeSaulniers & Company Printing in Moline. He then worked for Allen Printing until the great flood of 1965. In May 1965 he worked in the back shop of Domestic Plumbing in Clinton until he began his apprenticeship 1973. At that time Gus became a member of Plumbers and Steamfitters Local 387 in Davenport, IA. He turned out as a Journeyman in 1976. He worked for several signatory contractors across the Midwest, traveling to support his family during the early 1980’s recession.
Gus was elected to the Executive Board at Local 387. He was elected as a delegate to the UA National Convention. At Local 387 he was appointed as a delegate to Clinton Labor Congress AFL-CIO, the Political Action Committee and Organizing Committee. After a merger between Local 387 and Rock Island Local 25 in 1998 he became a member of Plumbers and Pipefitters Local 25 until his retirement in 2000.
Gus was a Trustee to Clinton Labor Congress AFL-CIO, delegate to Iowa AFL-CIO, trade unionist, staunch Democrat and Clinton County Democrat Hall of Fame inductee. He encouraged folks to exercise their right to vote, “shop local”, buy “made in USA” and “buy Union”. He was a member of St. Stephens, St. Paul Lutheran Church, Amvets, Moose, Elks and Eagles Club all in Clinton.
He enjoyed fishing, taking car rides with his wife Marcia, trying his luck at the casinos and spending time with his family.
He is survived by his wife Marcia Keefer of Clinton; two children: Anita (Joseph) Hayes of Clinton and David (Peggy) Keefer of Clinton; grandchildren: Audrey (Brett) Cram, Nina (David) Barker and Kallyn, Emersyn and Griffen Keefer; great grandchildren: Oliver Cram, Amelia Cram and Levi (Abi) Barker; great great grandchildren: Ashton and Lincoln Barker; and many nieces and nephews.
Gus was preceded in death by his parents, siblings: Jack Keefer, Virginia Pray, Kay Hagen and Gilbert Goldensoph and grandson Chad Hayes.
In lieu of flowers memorials may be made to: The Jerry O’Leary Scholarship Fund or Clarissa C. Cook Hospice House
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