Gwendolyn Ilene Keefauver

Gwen Keefauver of Palmdale, California was born on February 10, 1932, near Paoli, Colorado, and went home to be with the Lord on January 26, 2022.

Dr. H.C. Hill and Aunt Nora Fisbeck attended her birth.  Her parents, Bill and Bess (Schropfer) Fisbeck, named their middle daughter Gwendolyn Ilene. Gwen was predeceased by her parents, her older sister Delores Austin Zinzli, and her younger sister Betty Willey.

Gwen grew up on a farm and regularly milked the cows and helped her dad. She learned to drive a John Deere tractor and was her dad’s tractor ‘man’ during harvest. Their house on that farm had no indoor plumbing, so her other chores included carrying buckets of water from the well to the house for cooking and bathing. 

She cherished her paintings of the farm where she grew up and often shared fond memories of the farm. Windmills always held a special place in Gwen’s heart. Later in life Gwen recycled barnwood from that farm into frames for her paintings and other memorabilia.

She attended Pleasant View Country School, District 15, where her teachers included Geraldine Morgan, Gladys Barker and Alice Blakesly. Following her graduation from Phillips County High School in 1949, she entered Beth El School of Nursing at age 18. She earned and associate degree in nursing at Memorial Hospital in Colorado Springs. She completed her nursing training in Greeley, Colorado and her surgical training at Saint Joseph’s Hospital in Denver, Colorado.

Gwen loved the outdoors and was an avid skier while she lived near the mountains. She was a member of the Timberline Club whose members were over six feet tall. It was there that she met her future husband, Robert William Keefauver. 

Gwen and Bob were married on April 5, 1958 and moved to California.  She quickly started her career as a nurse at Pacoima Lutheran Hospital in Sylmar, California. After a time, her career took her to Saint Joseph’s Medical Center in Burbank, California. During her employment at Saint Joseph’s Medical Center, she completed her bachelor’s degree in nursing. She specialized as an entero-stoma therapist through University of Southern California (USC).  During her employment at Saint Joseph’s Medical Center, she additionally served on the surgical, general neurology and lithotripsy teams.

She was an active member of Peace Lutheran Church in Lake View Terrace, California and was the organist for forty-plus years. After moving to Palmdale, California, Gwen continued to drive over 50 miles one way every Sunday to play the organ.  She served her sisters and brothers in Christ under the leadership of Pastor Jon Imme.

Gwen had a great sense of humor and typically responded to a joke with “That was a knee-slapper!” Gwen often spoke of looking forward to playing a lot of golf in retirement. She was instrumental in organizing women's golf tournaments at El Cariso Country Club in Sylmar, California. At the time of her death, she owned the ground where the driving range for the Holyoke Golf Course is located.

She was loved by many and had a long and fulfilling life serving the Lord and her family and friends. She also loved her many dogs over the years, Trixie, Pooch, Cindy-Sue, and Sami-Sue 1.0, 2.0 and 3.0.

Gwen is survived by husband Robert (Bob), son Doug and daughter-in-law Cindie, grandson Kyle and his wife Kim, and granddaughter Kellie, in addition to several cousins, nieces and nephews.

Services for Gwen Keefauver will be Wednesday, February 16 at Baucke Funeral Chapel at 10:30 a.m. with Pastor Gary Rahe officiating.

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