John Edward Keiter, Sr. passed away peacefully surrounded by family on Wednesday night, August 18, 2021.
John was born on December 29, 1938, in Kinston, North Carolina, and enjoyed many summers at his beach house with his family on the outer banks of North Carolina, where he liked to sail in his sailboat as a young boy.
He moved to Utah in the mid-1970’s and fell in love with the mountains and the four seasons. John loved to hunt, fly fish, golf, sail, travel, ski, spend time with friends and family and be in the outdoors. One of John’s favorite places on earth was the river house he built on the Provo River in Woodland, Utah.
John graduated from medical school from the University of North Carolina and specialized in Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery at the University of Washington in St. Louis, Missouri. He served as a general surgeon in the Army in Kansas.
John was married to Phyllis Ann Whitenack for 18 years, and they had two daughters together, Katharine and Anna.
John was a renowned Plastic and Reconstructive Surgeon who was beloved by his patients. He was once published for developing one of the first procedures for re-attaching a finger to a hand to replace a thumb.
John was married to Dana Marie Durbano in 1982 and they raised four children together: his stepdaughter Breklyn, and their three children Kelly, John Jr. and Caroline Paige. The family lived in Ogden until 1994, when they moved to Park City.
John had the opportunity to travel to Vietnam on two medical missions, where he helped reconstruct cleft palates for many small children and patients who did not have access to modern healthcare. His efforts to reconstruct a young boy’s face that was marred in a mine explosion during the war was captured in a documentary by filmmakers who accompanied him on the trip.
John was also married to Carla Evans for 10 years, and they lived at the River House in Woodland after he retired.
Dad enjoyed many family trips to Hawaii, where he loved to golf, run on the beach and spend time with his kids.
He loved it when his children and grandchildren would visit him in his later years.
John is the middle child to William Eugene Keiter, Sr. and Leonora Mary Readey Keiter. He is survived by his brothers, William Eugene Keiter, Jr. (Martha) and Robert Harvey Keiter (Beth), his six children, Katharine Windsor Olive (Mike), Anna Christian Keiter, Breklyn Adele Morgan (Troy), Kelly Marie Keiter, John Edward Keiter, Jr. (Rachel) and Caroline Paige Sparks (Mike), and his eleven grandkids, Eric and David, Christian, Mason, Mia and Bree, Clark and Amy, Calvin, Rivers and Winnie.
His family will miss him dearly. We are grateful for the memories and hope he’s found peace and happiness with loved ones on the other side.
A memorial service will be held at the First Presbyterian Church, located at 12 C Street in Salt Lake City, Utah, on Thursday, September 23, 2021, from 5:30 p.m. to 7 p.m. It will be live-streamed for family and friends who are unable to attend.
In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to Operation Smile at operationsmile.org.