The Rev. Dawn R. Keenan

NEPONSET – The Rev. Dawn Rene Keenan, 54, of Neponset, died Easter Sunday, April 5, 2015, at her home.

Dawn was born Oct. 21, 1960, in Sterling, the daughter of Leonard Johnson and Florence Elaine Anderson. She married Michael Randall Keenan on Oct. 21, 1990, in Paddock Lake, Wisconsin. Dawn was a 1978 graduate of Sterling High School and went on to complete her bachelor’s degree in music therapy at Western Illinois University. She became an A.I.M. for about 3 years in the late ’90s, and then decided she wanted to become a Lutheran minister. In 2004, she attended the Lutheran Seminary of Theology in Chicago. While overlapping classes and her family, she was able to receive her master’s of divinity at LSTC. Dawn served as a pastor in Cambridge for 4 years. She had a passion for music, and was the director of the choir and bell choir. She enjoyed teaching piano lessons, crocheting, crossword puzzles, swimming, and most of all, spending time with her family.

Survivors include her husband; her father, Leonard (Jane) Johnson of Sterling; three sons, Randy, Ryan, and Riley Keenan, all of Neponset; one sister, Jennifer Strand of Sterling; one brother, Todd (Suzanne) Johnson of Fort Roberts, Missouri; two nephews, Ben Johnson and Andy South; and one niece, Olivia South.

She was preceded in death by her mother, Elaine; her stepfather, Dennis Stoudt; and one nephew, Daryl Johnson.

Visitation will be from 9 to 10:45 a.m. Friday at McDonald Funeral Home in Rock Falls. The funeral will be at 11 a.m. Friday at Immanuel Evangelical Lutheran Church in Rock Falls, with the Rev. Jan Veseth and the Rev. Henrietta Milner co-officiating. Burial will be at Coloma Township Cemetery in Rock Falls.

Visit mcdonaldfuneralhomes.com to send condolences.