Mrs. Cecil Gatlin Keith

Our beloved Cecil Keith, known to many as “Honey,” passed away peacefully in the arms of her husband of 66 years, on August 21, 2022. She was the loving wife of Spurgeon C. Keith, Jr. and mother of Dr. S. Carter Keith, III and Kathleen Oddo. She is survived by her husband, son and daughter, Carter’s wife, Maureen Keith, Kathleen’s husband, Kevin Oddo, and by her grandchildren David Keith, Christopher Keith and his wife, Jessy, Lauren Oddo and her fiancé, Travis Cuddy, and Keith Oddo.

Cecil was born in Tallahassee, Florida on October 7, 1933 to Maymie and Cecil Gatlin. She was predeceased by her parents and by her sisters Elizabeth Culley and Mary Charles Leverette.

Cecil graduated from Florida State University, and received her Masters plus thirty hours from the University of Michigan. She was a popular and talented teacher for more than 40 years, culminating in a six-year tenure as Department Chairman of Social Studies at Grosse Pointe North High School in Michigan where she also taught five sections of US Advanced Placement History.

Cecil and Spurgeon met through family ties, when she was 15 and he was 16. They engaged in a long-distance romance (he lived in Birmingham) until they married on March 30, 1956 while he was completing his Aeronautical Engineering degree from Georgia Tech. Theirs was a love match made in heaven. After retiring in 1999, they moved to Roanoke to be near family. Cecil and Spurgeon enjoyed extensive travel abroad and in the States. She was an avid reader and an accomplished pianist. Honey loved her grandchildren and they loved her. Cecil lived her life with great joy and an endless capacity of love for all. She will be desperately missed by many, and especially by her family.

Funeral services will be held Friday, August 26th at 1:00 p.m. at Christ Episcopal Church, 1101 Franklin Rd., Roanoke, Virginia, officiated by The Very Rev. Alexander MacPhail. On-line participation will be available at: tinyurl.com/CecilKeith. Arrangements and on-line condolences are provided by Lotz Funeral Home. A private interment will be held at Sherwood Memorial Park, Salem. In lieu of flowers, please consider a contribution in Cecil’s honor to Christ Episcopal Church’s lighting fund.