George A. Keyes, sales executive, veteran

Wednesday, 28 October 2009 12:11

George Alexander Keyes of New London, N.H., and Boynton Beach, Fla., died after a brief illness on Friday, Oct. 23, at The Greens at Cannondale, Wilton. He was the husband of Edith Grace Keyes, and was 92.

Born Sept. 7, 1917 in Brooklyn, N.Y., to the late George and Luella Keyes, he spent his formative years in Douglaston, N.Y., where his father owned and operated a number of grocery stores. While in his 20s, his natural inclination toward sales resulted in a position with Cross and Blackwell foods. He enlisted in the U.S. Army before the outbreak of World War II and his mathematical aptitude soon became apparent. He graduated from Officer’s Candidate School, became an instructor for the 90mm antiaircraft weapon, and served in military intelligence in the Panama Canal and England. He attained the rank of first lieutenant by the time of his discharge.

Following military service, he resumed his sales career as the director of East Coast sales for Pepsi Cola. Subsequently, he worked for the Sturtevant Millwork Corp. of Deer Park, N.Y., where he was the top salesman for 32 years. After a brief retirement in the 1980’s, he went to work for a competitor and was asked to return to Sturtevant, where he became president and tripled the annual sales of the company. He was widely known in the millwork industry on the East Coast and particularly proud of the Lifetime Achievement Award he received from the Northeast Lumberman’s Association in 1990, his family said. In addition to his sales career, he was an instructor for the Dale Carnegie Course and traveled extensively domestically and overseas promoting the ideals and principles of Dale Carnegie. He greatly enjoyed public speaking on the topic of sales and business and was often selected to be a speaker at the annual meeting of the Lumberman’s Convention, his family said. He was also a licensed financial adviser and worked throughout the 60s and 70s for Frontier Planning in New York, N.Y.

An avid sailor, he enjoyed racing his Rhodes 19 sailboat on Manhasset Bay and Long Island Sound. He was a leader for Troop 241 and always supported The Boy Scouts of America. He was particularly fond of New Hampshire’s natural beauty and the “Live Free or Die” philosophy of its residents, his family said.

Mr. Keyes was predeceased by his grandson, Brian Rorick. In addition to his wife, to whom he was married for 66 years, he is survived by a son, Robert, and his wife, Shelley of Ridgefield, and by his daughter, Kathleen Rorick, and husband, Dave McNichol, of Norwalk and Charlestown, R.I. He is survived by five grandchildren, Michael Rorick, Timothy Rorick, Matthew Rorick, Alexander Keyes, and Eleanor Keyes and one great-grandchild, Jackson Rorick.

Friends and family gathered on Monday, Oct. 26, the Magner Funeral Home in Norwalk. Funeral services were the next day at St. Philip’s Catholic Church in Norwalk. Burial followed at St. John Cemetery, Norwalk, with full military honors.

In lieu of flowers, memorial donations may be made to NARSAD (National Alliance for Research of Schizophrenia and Depression), 60 Cutter Mill Rd, Suite 404, Great Neck NY 11021 or the Connecticut Yankee Council of BSA, P.O. Box 32, Milford CT 06460.