Cleo "Kay" Estelle Keairns

Cleo Estelle Underwood Keairns, 93, of Howard, OH, passed away Thursday, October 31, 2024, at County Club Rehabilitation Center, in Mount Vernon, OH.

Cleo was born November 18th, 1930, in Piketon, OH to Joseph and Amy {Sargent} Underwood.

She married Jack D. Keairns November 15th, 1947.  She was a graduate of Lucasville High School, attended Portsmouth Interstate Business College and Ohio University, where she earned an associate's degree with a concentration in both Psychology and English while raising her two children.  She was a Christian her whole life and bravely moved from the small southern Ohio town to Columbus OH where she started her long career as a personal assistant to the bank president of a major bank. Later she went on to work for the Ohio Supreme Court Admissions office until she retired in 1998. Grandma Hollywood liked to dress to the nines and drive her BMW convertible around town. Generous, loving, giving, independent and adventurous, she didn’t know a stranger. She was sensitive to the needs of the people around her and would take charge of making sure they were OK. She moved around and lived on her own until she was 91 years old. She drove well into her late 80’s. She was an avid crossword puzzle person, doing 40 or more a week, and was good at it. Don’t tell anyone but she loved sweets and those may have contributed to her reaching 93. She loved animals and included them in the many checks she wrote to all kinds of charities.  Cleo also spent time as a staff volunteer for Riverside Hospital in her spare time.   She had many hobbies, roller blading around Antrim Park, Picnic with the Pop's, musicals at the Palace Theater, fine dining, a good party, going to the pool and beach, but most of all she enjoyed time with her family.  

Cleo will be deeply missed by her children Julie (Ron) Pickett of Plain City, OH and Cindy (Joe) Lennon of Howard, OH as well as six grandchildren and six great-grandchildren, and many nieces and nephews who were close to her.  Cleo was preceded in death by her parents, five brothers and six sisters.

 A Celebration of Life will be held on November 16th, 2024, at Faith Life Church, 284 Liberty St, Powell, OH 43065,  Open House from 1:00 - 3:00 p.m. 

Online tributes may be made at www.RobertsFuneralHome.com. Memorial contributions may be made to an animal shelter of your choice in her name.