OKLAHOMA CAPITOL --- There was gentleness in his words and a kindness in his heart.
The dusk of life comes in all temperatures. For some, it is warm and cozy and full of the kindnesses of family. Like warm chocolate chip cookies fresh from the oven, the days are filled with holiday fixings and laughter with family and friends.
For others, the dusk of life is filled with the joys and pressures of work. Either the need for money or the love of work drives persons to achievement even in the dusk of life. For some, the dusk of life is frigid – frozen by the physical pain of a rigid body and the suffering of multiple body systems shutting down one by one by one.
Like trudging through the tundra, each day is filled with the effort required to simply live. They are days of expensive medicines, shortness of breath, slowness of gait and stammering speech. For others, the dusk has turned black. Minds once filled with the complexities of life are now simply blank.
Regardless of how one experiences the dusk of life, the services delivered by the Oklahoma Department of Human Services Aging Services Division fill the physical and emotional gaps exposed by the isolation, loneliness and diminished capacities of Oklahomans living in the dusk of life.
Whether delivering each day’s light with the delivery of today’s hot meal, or funding community senior centers where meals are served family style, food and friends are meant to be a continuing part of life.
The genius of developing solutions that brought light to the dusk generally landed in the lap of Roy Keen, the leader of the Aging Services Division and a 47-year career public servant. He was ahead of his time in many ways. Seniors always felt heard and understood.
Almost everyone routinely respectfully deferred to Roy Keen’s subject matter expertise. Hardly anyone in the nation knew aging services like Roy. He was intimately involved in delivering services to seniors when the first version of The Older Americans Act became law dozens of years ago. His vision and quiet, respectful, gentle, compassionate leadership style appealed to everyone.
His understanding of the needs of seniors defied the age at which he started finding the solutions for seniors. He helped develop services that saved taxpayers money and gave low-income seniors home health services during a time when nursing home utilization continued to strain the Medicaid budget.
He was a strong advocate for improving the quality of nursing home care. He knew seniors wanted to be at home as much as possible and with their families where feasible. So, he helped fund respite services to family members who were the principal caregivers of their aging parents and grandparents. Above all, Roy Keen was a friend to everyone. Rest, dear friend. You have been a good and faithful servant. You are loved and will be affectionately missed.
Additional Information: A memorial service for Keen will be held at 2 p.m. June 21 at Sunny Lane Funeral Home, 4000 S.E. 29th St. in Del City, Okla. Flowers should be sent to the funeral home. Well-wishers should e-mail comments to Communications@OKDHS.org.
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