Brockport, NY - Francis W Keenan, age 90, emeritus professor at the College at Brockport, New York, died on May 26, 2026, at 7:00 PM. He was born July 30, 1935, In Danville, Illinois, the son of Wilbur E. "Dick" Keenan and Mary M. Keenan (nee Keenan). He is survived by his wife, Phyllis Kaye Keenan, son Sean P. Keenan and wife Antoinette, beloved granddaughter Shannon M. Keenan and her fiancé Kevin M. Durkin, and sister Emma J. Mahoney of Danville. He was preceded in death by a sister, Mary F. Robeck also of Danville.

He graduated from Schlarman High School in Danville in 1953 and then joined the US Marine Corps. He was a Korean Conflict veteran. Following military service, he attended the Catholic University of America, the University of Maryland, and Danville Junior College. Following his marriage to Kaye Shelby on July 31, 1960, they moved to Palo Alto, California, where he was employed by the Veterans Administration Hospital. He received his Associate in Arts degree from Foothill J.C. in 1963 and a Bachelor of Science degree from San Jose State College in 1965. He accepted a graduate teaching appointment at the University of Illinois, Champaign/Urbana, where he completed his M.S. (1968) and Ph.D. (1971) degrees.

While an undergraduate student at San Jose State, he was employed by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration as a test subject during experimental phases of NASA's Mercury and Gemini projects. The studies were completed at the Ames Research Center, Moffett Field, Sunnyvale, California. The results were published in the Journal of Aerospace Medicine.

As a graduate student and instructor at the U of Illinois, he was the reigning singles and doubles badminton champion. He competed in American Badminton Association tournaments in Missouri, Ohio, Tennessee and Illinois. He won in his division at a tournament in Joliet, Illinois, in 1971. Also, during this time, Francis served as golf professional at Lincolnshire Fields Country Club in Champaign from 1967 to 1973.

Doctor Keenan joined the faculty of SUNY Brockport in 1971. He was the head of the Sport Science program he was a varsity soccer coach and a coach of the varsity golf team. The soccer team won the Division III National Championship in 1974. His golf team won its state championship in 1979. He was a noted golf instructor and often gave free advice to golfers at a local driving range in Brockport. Two of his trainees won state championships. Others became club champions. Eight of his former varsity players became club professionals.

In 1975, he joined the college administration as an assistant vice-president for Academic Affairs and had responsibilities in personnel and budget. He returned to his tenured position in 1991 and taught the required writing course during his final six years of employment there. He was one of the founders of the Philosophic Society for the Study of Sport which later became the International Association for the Philosophy of Sport. He served in every office and was President in 1976-7. He published numerous essays in scholarly books and journals and was a speaker at professional meetings. He retired in 1997 after 27 years of service to the college.

"Doc," as he was known, was an avid trainer of retriever dogs. He competed widely with them in AKC field trials which took him to nearly every state. His young derby dog, "Spice," won five consecutive derbies in 1988. In 1992, his dog "Gunner," qualified for the National Amateur Championship. His dogs won many ribbons and awards. Francis was a retriever field trial judge for the AKC and judged over 50 major events. He was a past member of the Western New York Retriever Club, the Finger Lakes Retriever Club, the Central New York Retriever Club, a founding member of the Cape Fear Retriever Club, and the Empire Club, and an honorary life member of the Bluegrass Retriever Club. After retiring from the college, he spent winters in Alabama training his retrievers. He had published 24 essays about dog training and judging in the Retriever News Journal. Dog training ended after 46 years when he retired to his home in Clarkson, New York.

From a young age, he had been fond of hunting and fishing and was a life member of the National Wild Turkey Federation. Francis was a member of the Brockport Conservation Club for nearly fifty years. He was an active deer, pheasant, and turkey hunter and held a lifetime hunting license in New York.

Genealogy and family history research often took him to the Keenan ancestral home in Breckinridge County, Kentucky. Much of his youth was spent upon his maternal grandparents' tobacco farm there. Prof Keenan was a life member of the Breckinridge Country Historical Society. He published, along with cousin Perry Ryan, a full account of his Keenan family history which traced to 1766 in County Monaghan, Ireland. He also published a book on his wife's Shelby family history. He discovered that she was a descendant of a Revolutionary War soldier.

Services are planned. Burial will be in Mount Olivet Cemetery, Brockport, New York.