Mrs. Virginia Keys was born November 3, 1928 in Tyler, Texas, and passed away February 14, 2018.
She was the youngest of five born to John Frank Knight and Lillie Ella (Luce) Knight. She grew up near Greenbriar Lake and attended Dixie School and graduated from Tyler High School in 1946 and moved into Tyler with her family and began her career as a telephone operator for SW Bell. She was a long-time member of the Church of Christ, attending West Erwin in Tyler and later Ward Street in Marlin, Texas. In early 1958, Virginia met Howard Keys on a blind date arranged by her sister, Margaret and her husband Gabe Gilley. They were married July 12, 1958 in Tyler and she soon became a mother and homemaker. She loved her family and her church, cooking and gardening. Howard was an educator, and the family lived in Tyler, Elkhart, Winona and settled in Chilton. Their 3 sons graduated from Chilton HS and UT. Virginia was with her family when she passed away peacefully after a long battle with Alzheimers in Ft. Worth.
She is survived by her sons and their wives: Dennis & Hillary, David and Zoanna, and John and Melinda, 3 grandsons: Micah Keys, and JC and ET Sakouhi, brother-in-law Gabe Gilley, nieces and nephews Elizabeth Gilley, Elaine and Bill Lancaster, Gary and Chris Gilley, Larry Lambright and other loved ones.
Services will be held Monday February 19, 2018 at 1 p.m. at Autry’s Carroll Lehr Funeral Home in Athens, Visitation will be held from noon to 1 p.m. Monday prior to the service.