McHenry honors Ben Keefe, VFW commander who died at 50

Larry Cannon started going to the McHenry VFW Post 4600′s weekly Queen of Hearts drawing when its pot hit just over $7 million in September 2018.

A U.S. Marine veteran who had never before joined a veterans club, he became a member and got involved with the post because of the commander there, Ben Keefe, Cannon said Saturday.

Cannon was one of about 300 area veterans, family members and residents who came out to the VFW Hall in McHenry to honor Edward “Ben” Keefe, 50, who died unexpectedly on Sept. 2.

“We are gathered here as Ben Keefe touched our lives,” said Betty Thompson of the VFW Auxiliary, who led the 40-minute service. “Son, brother, husband, father, fellow veteran, co-volunteer, friend or acquaintance. He treated all of us with kindness and then with his big smiles showed us he cared.”

A Wilmette native, New Trier High School graduate and Eagle Scout, Keefe joined the U.S. Army, serving with the 10th Mountain Division from 1992 to 1994. He was deployed to Somalia and Haiti. When Keefe returned to Illinois in 1994, he purchased VacuSweep Services, a street sweeping company.

He and his wife, Kim, grew up just blocks apart from each other, but did not start dating until 1997. They married in October 1999 and had three daughters.

Keefe joined the McHenry VFW in 2012 where he “volunteered countless hours, took on the roll of facility handyman, and was one of four Queen of Hearts originators,” Thompson said.

In 2014, he began volunteering with Team Rubicon, aiding communities and veterans in times of disasters.

“Ben lived a life of service and compassion,” Thompson said.

When he joined, the VFW was struggling and the building had problems.

“He was always fixing something” with his youngest daughter, Molly, as his shadow. The Queen of Hearts raffle quickly started bringing more people to the VFW and the funds raised helped to restore the building.

According to a Nov. 11, 2021, Northwest Herald interview with Keefe, about 80% of the local VFW members were Vietnam veterans in their 70s, and that he was working to bring in younger veterans who served in Iraq and Afghanistan.

He also was a mentor to Mike Kinnerk, a veteran who joined during the first Gulf War and spent 22 years in the Army. Kinnerk took over as the VFW commander following Keefe’s death.

“He was mentoring me to take over as the next commander when he decided to step down,” Kinnerk said.

When that would have happened was never fully decided, Kinnerk said, as Keefe kept on putting off the decision to step down. Still, he wish he had more time to learn from his friend.

“It was too soon,” Kinnerk said.

The day before Keefe’s death, he and his daughter Molly joined McHenry Mayor Wayne Jett and his children putting up signs for the RISE Up music festival set for the following weekend. Jett met Keefe at the VFW because of his volunteer work there.

“Ben was like a brother to me,” Jett said. “We had the same views in life, always working to help others and putting others ahead of himself.”