Keith Allan Dawes passed away from natural causes on May 15, 2023, at the age of 75. Keith was born May 18, 1947 in Hanford, CA. Keith was preceded in death by his parents Kenneth and Barbara Christine (Franks) Dawes, his brothers Fredrick and Chuck Dawes, and his daughter Amy (Dawes) Burcham. He is survived by his wife of 56 years, Barbara Ann Dawes, daughter Ava 'Christy' Dawes, sons Tim and Brandon (Jenn) Dawes, sister Freda Doran Arnold, and brother Scott Dawes. Keith had 5 grandchildren that he was very proud of: Brock and Grant Hansen, Bailey Adler, and Ava and Kaylinn Dawes.
Keith loved life and all it entailed! He enjoyed studying road maps and traveling with his family. Keith and Barbara traveled near and far, even out of state, to watch baseball, basketball, gymnastics, and dance recitals. Keith enjoyed music and played the clarinet in his youth. Another favorite pastime was playing slow-pitch softball, volleyball, and his favorite, basketball. As he got older, he turned his love of the game into coaching. He used his love of sports and ministry to witness to others. Eventually, this resulted in the creation of the Waukena Community Church multipurpose building. Keith's biggest passion was sharing his faith as a devout Christian. After attending seminary at Fresno Pacific College, his path led him into education instead of ministry.
Keith was a faithful servant of Christ. As a young boy, he already had ideas of how to serve others. This led him into a career in education at Waukena Elementary School for more than thirty years. He served as a teacher of various grade levels before going into administration, where he served as principal/superintendent. He returned to his passion of working with students in the classroom before his retirement.
Keith was a self-proclaimed hobby farmer, where he stayed true to his roots. He would often come home from a full day's work at school to jump on a tractor or tend to his irrigation, until it was time to catch a few hours rest before starting a new day back at school.
Keith would want to be remembered as a faithful follower of Jesus Christ. If he touched your life through his living example, then he would say he lived a life worth living.
Graveside services will be held on June 2, 2023, at Visalia Cemetery at 10:30a.m. with a reception to follow at Waukena Community Church in the multipurpose building.
In lieu of flowers, the family requests donation be made in Keith's name to the Waukena Community Church.
SHARE OBITUARY
v.1.8.18