Woodstock, Vermont

Theodore Kent Keith was born in West Barnet, Vermont on March 25, 1928, delivered at home by his father. His parents were Dr. Theodore K. Keith and Phyllis Caldwell Keith, and he was the oldest of two children. His father grew up in Newton, Massachusetts, attended Newton High School, Boston University Medical School and entered the U.S. Army in 1943, serving in France and Germany, but died on his return home in January 1946. The passing of his father at such an early age was a tragic, yet defining, moment for Ted.

Ted attended Newton High School and enjoyed playing sports, including as a catcher in baseball. After he began his work career, he would often drive back from Worcester to Newton to participate in sports with his friends. He graduated in 1945, entered the U.S. Army and was stationed with the 24 ^th Division in Japan as part of the occupational force. He returned and graduated from MIT in 1950; during those years he worked as a milkman in Boston to help he and his mother make ends meet. He then attended Tuck School of Business at Dartmouth College, receiving his MBA degree in 1952.

He decided to pursue a career in banking and obtained a job at Worcester County National Bank. On his first day at work, he met Mary Louise Brockway – it was also her first day at work. They fell in love and were married on October 29, 1955 – a marriage that would last more than 65 years and she would serve as his "rock" the rest of his life.

Ted underwent training and was assigned to manage a new bank function: the use of computers for banking operations. For the next decade, he designed and implemented these early automated computer systems throughout the bank, building a national reputation in the process. He served on committees at the American Bankers Association and was a featured speaker at various conferences.

In 1963, he was named Vice President-Controller at the bank and was assigned the responsibility for corporate planning. In 1966, Ted joined First Union National Bank in Charlotte, NC as Senior Vice President of Operations, the first of several short-term positions that provided valuable experience, including at Union Commerce Bank and The Cleveland Clinic. After a decade of solving problems for businesses that provided no permanence and with experience in solving problems rapidly, Ted decided to work for himself and established a financial services consulting business.

In the late 1970's, he enjoyed solving challenging problems for a wide range of bank clients. In 1980, he was asked to step in and fix problems at the New England Bankcard Association, a bank-owned co-operative that managed credit card processing services. After a rapid turnaround at NEBA he managed the sale of processing services to First Data Resources in Omaha, negotiating to operate the limited functions remaining at NEBA through a management agreement, as well as purchasing a small, emerging point-of-sale terminal network. As additional services were needed by NEBA member banks, Ted's new organization – The Amherst Group - grew to include a commanding share of the New England market for these new credit card payment devices and in 1990, he arranged a profitable sale to PA-based CoreStates Bank.

While continuing to manage NEBA, Ted and his remaining team started a new venture in Portsmouth, NH to handle the outsourcing of credit card issuing operations for small banks, called Harbor Card Services. Ted always believed in family and friend participation in his business, with wife Mary B. playing a key role in various functions and children and grandchildren being involved in various ways. Friends Leo McManus and Blair Shick served for decades on the Boards of the company. In 1995, the ventures today, with second and third generation family management.

Over and above the demanding schedule of his business activities through the years, Ted always ensured his priorities were to his marriage to Mary B. and to children Ted Jr., Molly, and Marilyn. He believed in God, that life was guided by Him and that his trials here on earth were always for a greater purpose. He tried hard to be a good husband and father, setting by example. An avid reader, particularly of history and management, he was also a fan of the Boston Red Sox and Celtics and of the Pittsburgh Steelers and he enjoyed going to Fenway Park frequently in his youth. He also liked being seaside and for many years he and Mary B had a second home on Cape Cod, and then in Newcastle, NH, where they would entertain family.

Ted enjoyed the company of many canine buddies; and only once in his life was he without one - for six months after the loss of his beloved Lhasa Apso, Duchess. He tried hard to be a helping hand for good works of various kinds, particularly oriented to the animal community.

He is survived by his wife Mary Louise (Brockway) Keith; son Ted Keith, Jr. and his wife Janie; daughter Mary Anne Keith and her long-time friend Claire; daughter Marilyn Keith Daly and her husband Christopher; granddaughter Melissa, her husband Ray Petraska and great- grandchildren Connor, Liam and a great-granddaughter due in September; granddaughter Mary, her husband Jordan Chadwick and great-grandchildren Molly and Ben; granddaughter Laura and her partner Robert Paquet; brother Frederick Keith, his wife Jan and nephews and nieces; and sister-in-law Katrina Brockway Bianchi.

The family would like to warmly thank the many household staff over the years that helped make Ted's final years enjoyable and enabled him to remain at home, even until his last day.

In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to the Lucy Mackenzie Humane Society in West Windsor, VT ( www.lucymac.org ), the Elephant Sanctuary in Tennessee ( www.elephants.com ), or to the Myasthenia Gravis Foundation of America ( www.myasthenia.org ).

A Mass of Christian burial will be held on Sunday May 9 ^th beginning at 2:00pm at Our Lady of the Snows Catholic Church in Woodstock. Burial will follow in the Riverside Cemetery in Woodstock, VT. There will be no public calling hours.

The family is being assisted by the Cabot Funeral Home in Woodstock. An online guest book can be found at cabotfh.com