Page 35 - MFM April 2017

Montana Freemason April 2017 Volume 93 Number 1
Kerry R. Keyser
M.W. Grand Master 1987-1988

MWPGM Kerry Keyser was born on January 27, 1929, in Butte, Montana to S.
Emmett Keyser and Thelma Dunbar Keyser.

Most Worshipful Brother Keyser was called to the Celestial Lodge on March 26,
2017.

He attended McKinley Elementary School and later graduated from Butte High.
He attended Montana State University, Bozeman, Montana. Kerry married Marilyn
Louise Heim on Aug. 7, 1948; they moved to Billings in 1956 when he joined the
Montana Highway Patrol. It was a profession that he was uniquely suited for, he
had compassion for people but a certain Butte toughness that steeled him from the
harshness of the world he often encountered.

Kerry was transferred to Ennis in 1966, a place that brought him back to his small town roots and offered a
special spot for his retirement. But fate handed him a different hand when Marilyn died unexpectedly in 1981.
They had been married 32 years and loved each other even longer. Kerry retired from the Montana Highway
Patrol after a 25-year career as a highway patrolman. He had the distinct honor of being the first active duty
Highway Patrolman to be elected to the Montana State Legislature when he was elected as Madison County
Representative in 1976. Retirement from the patrol also saw him become an insurance agent under the
tutoring of his good friend, Juanita Stalcup.

Kerry’s civic duty extended far beyond his employment. He served on the Ennis School Board for ten years,
many as Board Chairman. He was also an active member of Lions Club and got involved in anything that
helped Ennis or concerned the schools. He was an excellent bowler all of his life and passed that love down to
his kids. He had a competitive side that showed whenever he played a board game or anything that involved
a deck of cards. He loved to dance and made you smile every time he was on the dance floor!

Brother Keyser became a Master Mason in Three Forks Lodge No. 73, Three Forks, Montana. He was
Initiated on June 26, 1951; Passed on September 5, 1951, and raised to the sublime degree of a Master Mason
on 19 September 1951. In 1968 he dimitted from Three Forks No. 73 and affiliated with Montana Lodge
No. 2, Ennis, Montana. He served as Worshipful Master of Montana No. 2 in 1974. In June of 1976, he was
appointed Grand Tyler by MWGM Al C. Newby. He was elected and installed as Grand Master of Masons in
Montana in 1987. He became a 50 Year member in 2001.Brother Keyser found time to work with the Order
of DeMolay; he also became a member of the Butte Valley Scottish Rite and Bagdad Shrine.

Kerry married Doris Cousins in 1990, and they moved to Billings in 1992 after his final retirement and
embraced the sports world there, especially the Billings Mustangs baseball team, as well as the theater and
symphony. Family gatherings were plentiful with all the many children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren
that he now had! Doris passed away in 2016.

A celebration of his life was held at the Madison Valley Baptist Church in Ennis, MT at 3:30 p.m. on Friday,
March 31, 2017. Burial with Masonic Services will be in the Madison Valley Cemetery immediately after.

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