Help for the Keeton boys, now on their own

On Saturday, August 14th, Bill Keaton died in a fatal car wreck. He was a only a mile from his home, getting dinner to bring home to his 2 boys, Joshua and Caleb.

Joshua graduated from McIntosh High school, Class of 2020 and has just finished his first year at Georgia Military College. His younger brother Caleb is currently a sophomore at McIntosh. They now find themselves on their own, taking on the responsibilities for their home, the household expenses, and for each other.

The funds collected from this GoFundMe will go towards funeral expenses for Bill and the educational expenses for Joshua and Caleb. Please help these 2 boys, now men, face their future with greater confidence.

There is also a Meal train setup to help arrange meals for Keeton's as they take time to mourn and transition to their new reality. Here is the link to join that effort: https://www.mealtrain.com/trains/30834l

Links to news article on this tragedy: https://thecitizen.com/2021/08/16/driver-killed-in-saturday-crash-in-peachtree-city/

We join Joshua and Caleb in mourning the passing of Bill Keeton.

Bill Keeton was passionate about surfing, and here are his words he wrote for his Bio for the Surfing History Project:

Bill Keeton rode his first wave in the winter of 1965 at the Amaryllis, “The Ship,” on a reddish orange Keoki surfboard.

That first wave he rode hooked him for life. His first board purchase came in the form of a Buck Surfboard made in Deerfield Beach, purchased from his first grade friend, Donald Sayre. Bill earned money for the board by slaving away for days in his father’s business, the Riviera Toy and Hobby Center, on Broadway. After a short time surfing at the Ship, Bill opted for more peaceful venues riding waves, including behind the Ranch Motel in Jupiter, where he acquired enough skills to move to his home-away-from-home, “Pumphouse” on Singer Island.

Thanks to Al, the pump house operator (who kept the sand bar just right for south swells,) Bill and many other young surfers spent long days having great surf sessions at Pumphouse, until Al retired in the early 1980’s. After jobs with Price Waterhouse and other national and regional accounting firms in Miami, Bill moved back to northern Palm Beach County in 1985. In June of 1997, he became a co-founder and treasurer of the Jupiter Noseriders Surf Club. The club was soon the largest surf club on the East Coast with over 130 members. During this time, Bill traveled and surfed extensively in Costa Rica, Hawaii, California, and Mexico. The Jupiter Noseriders had hundreds of events and a robust following until its primary founder, Mike Arnold, passed away in 2008. Also in 2008, Bill became co-founder and treasurer of the Palm Beach County Surfing History Project. In 2012, Bill was elected treasurer of the Eastern Surfing Association.

In 2015, Bill became a co-founder and treasurer of the Surfing Florida Museum, Inc., a non-profit organization that has expanded the Surfing History Project’s outreach and helped the Project fulfill its mission. Bill believes the greatest accomplishments in his life have been as a parent to his two sons, Joshua and Caleb. “Nothing in this world compares to being their dad, and I want to thank them for allowing me the time to accomplish the things I have.”

Please also consider a donation to the Surfing Florida Museum in honor of Bill.

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For Disclosure: My name is Chris Dawson and my son is a close friend of Joshua. This GoFundMe was requested by Joshua and his brother. My role is only to help manage this page, and the funds can only be released by GoFundMe to Joshua and Caleb. Thank you all for your support to this cause. I will update this page as needed and requested.