JORDE, Keith Eugene

The White Mountain Independent, Show Low, Arizona ~ 07/29/2016 Keith Eugene Jorde went to Heaven June 23, 2016, following a heart attack while riding his bicycle. He was born Dec. 27, 1930, in Thief River Falls Minn. Keith was blessed with a wonderful talent for singing and grew up singing in the Lutheran Church, in high school and college plays, and at weddings, funerals, many celebrations and performances. He was a potato farmer who began selling 50-pound bags of potatoes door to door in Minneapolis, while attending the University of Minnesota and earned a degree in agriculture. He continued to market potatoes growing them in 10 states and supplying them to General Mills. He flew his Bonanza Airplane to monitor his business and he joked his office was in the cockpit of his plane. Keith served as a first lieutenant intelligence officer in the U.S. Army in the ‘50s. He married JoEllen Johnson and they lived in Hereford, Texas, and had six children, Jim Jorde, John Jorde, Ellen Urrutia, Marta Gonzalez, Paul Jorde and Andrea Beck. He later married Patricia Pierce and they lived in Cave Creek. They had two children, Jessica Anastasi and Jacob Jorde. Keith married Sandra Jones Turner in 2002. They resided in Arizona and California and wintered many years in Manzanillo, Mexico. She survives, along with his eight children, one stepson Jeff Turner, 18 grandchildren, and two brothers, Grant Jorde and Jim Jorde. A celebration of life service is to be held this fall in Cave Creek. Contributions may be made in Keith’s memory to cardiovascular research at Mayo Clinic in Arizona (www.mayoclinic.org/giving-to-mayo-clinic); The Foundation of Laguna Woods Village; or Meet the Need Foundation, a nonprofit mission project in Manzanillo, Mexico, to 2216 River Hills Road, Austin, TX 78733.