Patchogue Village trustee Joe Keyes, who had enthusiastically celebrated his St. Patrick’s Day Grand Marshal status at the James Joyce Pub and Restaurant just weeks prior, passed away on March 10 at the age of 73 due to a heart attack. Ruland Funeral Home conducted his wake, and the First Baptist Church of Patchogue held his service. Keyes was laid to rest in Cedar Grove Cemetery in Patchogue.
It was 2004 when Keys began his trajectory in aiding Patchogue’s development after retiring as track supervisor for the Long Island Railroad (LIRR).
He began attending weekly board meetings regularly.
“When a seat opened up on the Community Development Board, I appointed him as chairman in 2007,” recalled Mayor Paul Pontieri.
Keys later became a village trustee in 2010. His first term was a vacancy fill-in, and he won four reelections for the seat.
“People you appoint to the board must be interested in the village. He was smart, even-tempered, compassionate, and never stopped thinking of ways to improve the village.”
Keyes’s unique sense of humor was always ready to pop. Subtly entertaining, he’d quip on the board or in chamber meetings, recalls Business Improvement District executive director David Kennedy, who worked closely with Keyes when he was Parks and Recreation Commissioner, beginning with Kennedy’s stint as chamber executive director.
“When I took over the Business Improvement District managing special projects, the new ball field, removing phragmites, and oyster restoration were his recent collaborations.”
The list is long.
Patchogue’s Village Hall was packed the night the plastic ban for retail and eating establishments passed in 2015. Marshaled by Trustee Joe Keyes, he had tapped East Hampton and Southampton village officials to testify before the village board on their successful initiatives in recent years.
On June 9, 2015, Patchogue Village became the third largest village on Long Island to address this issue. The audience applauded after the vote passed.
“I wasn’t 100 percent for it initially,” said Mayor Paul Pontieri frankly, who had abstained from the voting.
“The board thought I was nuts,” Keyes privately admitted when it was first introduced.
Keyes established the Protecting the Environment Committee in 2015, subsequently focusing on microplastics in water while collaborating with students from St. Joseph’s University.
Electric charging stations were installed in January 2020. When the village introduced its Clean Fleet Policy (the first Suffolk Village to sign on), it purchased a Chevy Bolt EV that November.
Pontieri and Keyes joked about the first time they drove the Village’s electric car to Lindenhurst to meet with its mayor. It took them a half hour to figure out the controls.
Keyes’ solar committee inclusion also resulted in panels for the Patchogue Theatre roof, Village Hall, DPW, and the latest solar project, the LIRR train station.
Bellport Village later tapped Keyes for their Environmental Committee, established in 2022.
It was no surprise that music was a crucial part of his life.
“He was big on folk music at the Patchogue Theater,” recalled Patchogue Senior Building Inspector Peter Sarich, “Especially Arlo Guthrie.”
He was also a fan of Arlo’s dad, Woody Guthrie, and visited his birthplace, said Parks & Recreation Special Events Coordinator Bill Hilton of Keyes’ journey to the significant American singer and songwriter’s home. “He had his connection to his roots in the ’60’s.”
His last project would be the new softball fields under construction on Rider Avenue at Waldbauer Park.
Keyes wife Linda was the love of his life; they strolled together frequently on Bay Avenue. They had four children: Joey, Brian, Christopher and Jonathan.
“His kids went to school with my kids,” said Hilton. The memory of Keyes’ station wagon with his sons’ heads sticking out was still vivid. “We went on a lot of class trips.”
He ducked accolades, but being named Grand Marshal at the Passing of the Sash event on Feb. 23 for the Patchogue St. Patrick’s Day Parade was one of the biggest highlights of his life.
“He told us the second he was named,” said Amy Keyes, married to Joe’s youngest son Jonathan.
“It was suggested that we cancel the parade,” Amy Keyes said of the March 23 event. “But no one in the family considered that a possibility, even though it was incredibly painful. This was a moment he had been hoping for, and we did it to honor him.” Regarding his environmental passion, she stated that her father-in-law was an amazing dad and grandfather, and he wanted to leave this world a better place for them. “He didn’t do anything to be celebrated. The joy was in the work itself.”
“The St. Patrick’s Day Parade attracted Patchogue’s largest crowd to date,” said Parks & Recreation Director Maria Giustizia. “Approximately 5,000 people attended,” she added, “and possibly more.” Patchogue firefighter Vinny Palladino noted that no fire truck horn blasts occurred out of respect for Keyes and his family.
Keyes lived his life as a true Christian, said Hilton. “It almost seemed that Joe had to pass away for everyone to realize what a great guy he was. His family, including brothers Thomas, William, Stephen, and sisters Patricia Ohman, Valerie Haupt, Debra Canavan, and Kathleen Keyes, along with his five grandchildren, friends, co-workers from the LIRR, and his church, all came out for him.”
