Patricia Grace Keens

** funeral services will be livestreamed - please click the link to go to our Facebook page, and the livestream will be active once the funeral starts: https://www.facebook.com/MuehlebachFuneralCare **

Patricia Grace (Supplee) Keens, 86, of Kansas City, MO, passed peacefully with her husband by her side on February 19, 2025, at St. Luke’s Hospice House. Pat was the beloved wife of Leon, beloved mother of Michael (Mary Pat), Kevin (Peggy), Patrick, and Kathleen, and dear grandmother of Laura (Cameron) O’Toole, Timothy, Brandon, and Thomas Keens.

Pat was born in Kansas City, KS, on March 18, 1938, the youngest child of Claude and Alice (Etue) Supplee. She had five much older sisters, some already married, and two older brothers. All are now deceased.

She grew up in St. Peter’s Cathedral Parish in Kansas City, KS, and went to St. Peter’s Cathedral Grade School, and then onto Bishop Ward High School. When she was in high school, she contracted polio in one of the plague years of the 1950s. Pat spent time in one of the huge iron lungs; she recovered and went back to Ward High School.

After high school, Pat entered the Sisters of Charity’s St. Mary’s Novitiate. She stayed two years as first a postulant, then a novice. After she left St. Mary’s, she went for a year to Marymount College in Salina, KS, and then on to Avila College (now University) in Kansas City, MO, where she graduated with a degree in education.

She taught a few years in Catholic schools, including St. Terese Little Flower in Kansas City, and St. Ann in Prairie Village.

On December 26th, the day after Christmas, she married Leon Harvey Keens at St. Peter’s Cathedral. They went on their honeymoon to New Orleans, LA, staying in the French Quarter—the first of many trips together.

Pat gave up teaching to become a homemaker. When their children were born, she became a stay-at-home mom to raise her children.

Pat was an artist at heart. She painted miniature figures on Christmas tree balls, created drawings that now decorate their home, and in the most tasteful and creative ways, arranged pictures, small glass ornaments, and other small objects on shelves and in windows all around their home. She made various crafts as well, selling them on consignment at various craft stores.

Pat, Leon, and the eldest two of their children moved into their Brookside home on May 1, 1970, and became active members of Visitation Parish. They have lived there ever since.

Special events included autumn trips to the Ozarks, especially Branson and Silver Dollar City. Along with summer trips to Colorado, especially Manitou Springs and the Garden of the Gods. They went, as well, on two larger family trips; the first a tour of Colorado, including Ouray, Mesa Verdi National Park, Four Corners and on to parts of Arizona and New Mexico; then a more extensive trip to South Dakota, including Mount Rushmore; Wyoming including Yellowstone and Grand Teton National Parks; Colorado including Rocky Mountain National Park and then once more to Manitou Springs.

Christmases and Easters were special celebrations, allowing Pat to express her artistic talents in special decorations for the house, and her husband and children remember her extra special cooking for the occasions.

Her children fondly remember her as:

Michael said, “Mom was fiercely protective of her children. When necessary, she would stand up to school administrators and bullies alike.”

Kevin said, “Feeding the squirrels, rabbits, and birds in her backyard paints a vivid picture of her deep love and respect for all creatures. It’s a legacy that she has passed down to me, reflecting in my own values and actions. Choosing my middle name in honor of St. Francis of Assisi adds a moving touch to this connection.”

Patrick said similar things as Kevin regarding feeding the birds, squirrels and the rabbits in her backyard, but went on to say, “her respect for all creatures extended beyond backyard creatures. Mice had to be live-trapped and let loose in Swope Park; insects in the house had to be gingerly picked up in a Kleenex and put out the back door. That cost her some pain once when she picked up a bee, and it stung her. She continued on and safely put it outside.”

Kathleen said, “Mom embodied the best qualities: an unconditional love, an uncanny ability to always see the best in people, and an unwavering devotion to the color blue; this is something that will always bring a smile—the next bluebird, blue sky, hydrangeas (her favorite flower)—when I see them.”

Her grandchildren loving said of their grandmother:

Laura said, “I have fond memories of going to Fritz’s and Winstead’s. Especially the one time Grandma accidentally stole a menu from Fritz’s, and that her favorite flavor for a Winstead’s shake was chocolate.”

Tim said, “My earliest memories of Grandma would be when I was younger, she would come and babysit me during the day. We would watch Judge Judy, and she would always have a candy or something for us. I will always remember how much love and compassion she had for animals and nature. And I remember talking with her about the color blue, which is my favorite color, and how she liked it too. These are some fond memories I have of Grandma.”

Brandon said, “Grandma was a picture of happiness. She said ‘okie dokie smokie’ every time I called her. During Easter Egg Hunts, Grandma would point to us where the eggs were hidden. She would always come to my soccer games when she could when I was growing up. She loved to watch sports on TV and would get vey involved watching the Chiefs’ games, calling out ‘run, run, run’ and ‘get him!’ She is forever my guardian angel.”

Thomas said, “I remember her most when I was little when I would come over for Easter, and grandma would help me and Brandon find the Easter eggs hidden all around, and she would help us count all the coins we had found, and she would reward us with whatever sweet treat she had at the time. Those were some of my favorite memories. And when we (his brother and sister) would go to her house, she would always inspect our costumes—it was always the highlight of those nights.”

The family is grateful for the love and compassion shown to Pat and her family by the nurses and aides at St. Luke’s South Hospital, along with the wonderful help of the Visiting Angels while Pat was on home hospice care, and lastly, to the nurses and entire staff at St. Luke’s Hospice House for their kindness and compassion in Pat’s last days.

All services will be held at Visitation Parish, 5141 Main St., Kansas City, MO, on Friday, March 7, 2025. Visitation will begin at 10am, with Mass of Christian Burial following at 11am. For those unable to attend, funeral services will be livestreamed on Muehlebach Funeral Care's Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/MuehlebachFuneralCare. Immediately following Mass, there will be a luncheon in Tighe Hall.

Memorial Contributions may be made in Pat’s honor to: Bishop Sullivan Center, 3936 Troost Ave., KCMO, or Wayside Waifs, 3901 Martha Truman Rd., KCMO.