F. Stuart Keene, 87, of Houston, Texas, passed away peacefully on August 14, 2021. He was born to parents Vera and Frank Keene on December 10, 1933 in Mineola, New York. A lifelong entrepreneur, Stu had a passion for business and a boundless determination to achieve anything he set his mind to accomplishing. He was a “never take no for an answer” kind of man whose grit was only rivaled by his compassion, his generosity, and his sheer zest for life. While he was very proud of the multiple businesses he built and sold over his lifetime, his greatest source of pride and accomplishment came from his eight children and his marriage of 47 years to his loving wife, Linda, who was there with him until the very end.
Stu graduated from Hempstead High School in 1951 and enlisted in the United States Navy in March of 1953 as a Petty Officer, First Class during the Korean War. In 1957 Stu married his high school sweetheart Betty Ann and while their marriage did not stand the test of time, they did have five children together over the course of seventeen years: Stuart, Steven, Gary, Beth Ann, and Amy.
While in the Navy, Stu was introduced to electrical engineering and went on after the Navy to continue studying electrical engineering at Brooklyn Polytechnic. In the early years of his career Stu worked at Gruman Aviation as an engineer, which is where he became fascinated by flying and prompted him to get his pilot license. He loved to fly both recreationally and for business. In 1969 Stu was also heavily involved in politics and was proud to have a big part in Richard Nixon’s presidential campaign in Nassau County, Long Island, New York. In 1972 Stu joined forces with New York Mets shortstop Bud Harrelson and catcher Jerry Grote to create Players Cinema Systems, Inc., a company that brought movies into thousands of hotel rooms. While Stu, Bud and Jerry were a little before their time with this modern technology, it was still one of Stu’s favorite entrepreneurial stories to tell. In fact, a framed copy of the full-page Players Cinema Systems ad that ran in the New York Times donned his office walls for the rest of his career. After he took on in-room hotel movies, Stu went to work for Advanced Systems and Deltak and enjoyed tremendous success in sales.
In 1974 he met and married the love of his life, Linda. Linda, who was widowed, had a beautiful three-year old daughter named Laura and both Linda and Laura became “Keenes” that year, as Stu adopted Laura as his sixth child. The family moved to Atlanta and while there only a short time, Stu found himself commuting back to New York City so frequently that he had his own room at the Plaza Hotel with a name plate on the door. Eventually he was transferred back to New York and the family settled in Stamford, CT. While in Stamford, Stu and Linda welcomed twins, Patrick and Kristin. In 1979 Stu was transferred to Houston to open an office for Xerox Learning Systems.
Shortly after arriving in Houston, Stu left Xerox and founded PTI with his business partner, Mildred Blowen. While the company had several names over its duration, it was best known as PTI Labor Research, Inc. For over twenty years, Stu served as President and CEO of PTI and consulted with some of the largest and most prestigious companies in the world. A renowned expert in labor relations, Stu was consulted by British Parliament when they were changing their labor laws in the United Kingdom. Stu traveled the world working with business leaders on strategies to promote positive employee relations and union avoidance. Stu cast a wide net at PTI and was proud to have his daughter Laura as his general manager and his daughter Kristin running his multimedia department. His son Gary handled his IT and networking and his other son Steven did all of the printing of brochures, business cards and letterhead. He also hired and mentored countless of his children’s friends right out of college and gave so many a start to their careers. Stu was always the first one to the office at six in the morning and the
last to leave in the evening. He was known for having moments of creative genius while in the shower and couldn’t wait to wake up so he could go back to work to implement his creative ideas and innovations. PTI was more than just a career for Stu – it was an extension of his family and a proliferation of his own personal American dream.
After selling PTI in 2000, Stu and his daughter Kristin started a business together called The Keene Group and continued consulting in labor relations and union avoidance. Stu and Kristin made some incredible memories leading The Keene Group until Stu had a massive stroke in 2006. The stroke may have forced Stu into retirement but it didn’t take away or diminish his love for business and consulting.
Stu was known by all for his resilience and perseverance. If any of his children were going through a hard time, he would advise them to “keep moving forward because success is just around the corner.” Everyone in his path knew that “a Keene never quits” and “the harder you work the luckier you get.” “Dream big”, he would say, and “if you love what you do, you’ll never work another day in your life.”
It’s safe to say that Stu never worked a day in his life as he always loved what he was doing.
Stu was preceded in death by his son Stuart Keene, his sister Beverly Rummel, and his sister Ruth Eblen.
Stu is survived by his wife Linda and seven of his children: Steven Keene; Gary Keene and his wife, Dawn; Beth Ann Graf; Amy Dettling and her husband Martin; Laura Greer and her husband Brad; Patrick Keene and his wife Shannon; Kristin Anderson and her husband Rob. He is also survived by his sister Barbara Caldwell and fifteen grandchildren and three great-grandchildren.
Celebration of Life will be held Friday September 10, 2021 at Brookside Funeral Home Champions, 3410 Cypress Creek Parkway. The family will receive visitors from 2pm until 3pm and the memorial service will begin at 3pm.
In lieu of flowers, please consider directing memorial contributions in his name to The Menninger Clinic Hope Foundation at 12301 Main St., Houston, TX, 77035
We welcome you to share fond memories and expressions of sympathy for the Keene family. You can upload cherished photographs, or share your favorite stories at www.brooksidechampions.com
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