Marcella Joan Johnson Keenan

Marcella Joan Johnson Keenan, devoted and beloved wife, mother, grandmother and great-grandmother, died July 12, 2016, at Huntingdon, Pennsylvania.

She was born October 28, 1928 in DuBois, the daughter of the late Ellis Irwin Johnson, Sr. and Evah Belle Miller Johnson. Her family lived in Penfield for several years where she graduated from high school. She attended the DuBois Campus and then received her degree in Psychology from Penn State University in 1950. She received a nursing degree from the University of Pittsburgh at Bradford in 1981.

In DuBois on September 30, 1950, she married Curtis Harry Keenan. They celebrated their 61st anniversary in 2011. She was preceded in death by her husband who died in 2012, her brother Ellis Irwin Johnson, Jr. in 1946 and her sister Marlene in 1951.

 She is survived by three daughters: Laurie Keenan and husband James Brightwell of Nellysford, Virginia, Judith Sasala and husband Jerome of Austin, and Joan Dean and husband Phil of New Cumberland. Her grandchildren also survive her: Joshua Dean, Baltimore, Maryland; The Rev. Matthew Dean and wife Natalie, Pittsburgh; Captain Jeremiah Sasala and wife Laura, Monterrey, California; Katie Sasala, Austin; Elizabeth Brightwell, Richmond, Virginia; and Erin Dean, Harrisburg. She is also survived by her great –grandson, Desmond J. Dean of Pittsburgh, her sister-in-law Frances Keenan of Bloomington, Indiana, and three nieces (Wynter Vik, Heather Keenan and Sarah Gustafson) and four nephews (Eric and Lars Gustafson and Rich and Paul Keenan).

 She lived in Emporium from 1952 to 1982 and taught several years in the elementary schools of Cameron County. In 1982, her husband was transferred to Ottawa, Ohio, where they lived until 1989. While living there she worked as a registered nurse at Putnam Acres Care Center. In l989 they moved to State College where they lived until 2008 when they moved to Huntingdon to the Westminster Woods retirement community.

She was a member of the Presbyterian Church. In Emporium, she taught Sunday school and in Emporium and Ottawa, was active in women’s organizations. While in State College she was a visitation Deacon. At the time of her death, she was a member of the First United Methodist Church in Huntingdon. She enjoyed volunteer work at Mt. Nittany Medical Center, traveling, photography and reading. While at Westminster Woods, she helped start the caregivers’ support group. She was a lifetime member of the PSU alumni association. 

Her beloved family, however, was her greatest joy in life.

A Memorial Service will be held at Westminster Woods at 11 AM on Friday, July 15. The service will be conducted by The Rev. Harold Williams, Chaplain of Westminster Woods, Pastor Mindi Ferguson, United Methodist Church, and Pastor Matthew Dean, United Methodist Church.

 Burial will be in the Garden Mausoleum in State College. In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions may be made to the First United Methodist Church (427 Mifflin Street: Huntingdon, PA 16652); Home Nursing Agency (PO Box 352; Altoona, PA 16603; ATTN: Hospice Services); or Westminster Woods (360 Westminster Drive; Huntingdon, PA 16652).