After a long illness, Phillips Harwood Keys, age 84, passed into eternal life on Friday, July 14, 2017 at Strong Memorial Hospital. He was born in Rochester, NY on December 1, 1932 and was the son of the late Harwood and Garnet (Phillips) Keys. He was predeceased by his brother, Charles Keys.
He is survived by his wife of 57 years, Virginia (Linder) Keys, his son, Barry Harwood Keys, and his daughter, Jennifer (Earl) Adams and six grandchildren: Kirk, Anna, Isaac, lan, Grace, and Elise.
He was a graduate of Clarkson College of Technology (now Clarkson University). He was an officer in the United States Marine Corps and served from January 1957 to August 1960 on active duty and then in the Reserves until 1969, when he was honorably discharged. After military service, he worked at Pacific Power and Light in Portland, Oregon, then at Taylor Instrument Company in Rochester, NY and Akron, Ohio. He purchased Thermal Systems of Rochester in 1985, which was a manufacturer's representative agency for process control and process heating instrumentation, and worked there until he retired.
He served through the years in several community capacities but, after becoming a born-again Christian, he believed that he would have done a greater service to the world by sharing his faith and assuring others that Jesus is real. After retirement he enjoyed gardening and reading, and continued to read through the Bible each year as he had been doing for many years. He always said that it had changed his life and would recommend it to everyone. John 14:6 was frequently quoted by him in the last months and days of his life. His wife and son were holding his hands as he gladly crossed from this life into the presence of Jesus, bearing witness of his faith right to the end to all who were present.
At Phil's request, there will be no calling hours.
Special thanks to the Sussman Palliative Care Unit at Strong Memorial for their care and kindness.
Please share your thoughts and memories of Phillips with his family at http://www.tomaszewskifh.com and for more information please call Michael at (585)343-7500.
THE FAMILY OF PHILLIPS H. KEYS IS BEING CARED FOR BY THE MICHAEL S. TOMASZEWSKI FUNERAL & CREMATION CHAPEL, LLC 4120 WEST MAIN STREET ROAD BATAVIA, NEW YORK.
