Harold Keith

Harold Christenbury Keith was born in Charlotte, North Carolina to the late Alice Christenbury Keith and Lindsay C. Keith on April 19, 1916. He is preceded in death by his three brothers, Charles Keith, Sherman Keith, and Everette Keith, one sister, Nettie Wallace and his wife Virginia Keith. Harold was born on Sharon Amity Road in Charlotte. He often told of his father putting the family into a surry with fringe on top and heated bricks for them to put their feet on to stay warm while they rode to a relative’s house in Huntersville. They would spend Saturday night and attend Sunday church services at Asbury United Methodist Church where Harold was a lifelong member. Asbury was started by a family member five generations before him, and his grandfather, Harper Christenbury was a circuit riding preacher that stopped there. Eventually the family bought a piece of land in the Huntersville area. Harold learned farming on that land. When he was 12 his dad would let him drive the Model A into Charlotte on dirt roads and stop at St. Peter’s Hospital where they would sell the produce from their farm. One spring when Harold was 19 his father suddenly became ill and passed away. In October he went to the school and asked to speak to his sweetheart, Virginia Fite. When Virginia entered the hallway they grabbed each other’s hands and left the school with intentions of getting married. Harold told his sister, Nettie about their plan but she stopped him and said he couldn’t treat Virginia’s family that way. So, Harold walked into the cotton field and asked Mr. Fite for his daughter’s hand in marriage. Harold and his sister drove Virginia into Charlotte and bought her a new dress. They returned to Huntersville and gathered the preacher and all their relatives and got married that evening in Virginia’s home. They remained married for the rest of her life, 69 years. To that union were born seven children, three sons and four daughters. Harold was quite the entrepreneur. He started a business selling firewood. He would drive to Charlotte and sell the wood to people who heated their homes with it and used wood cook stoves. He ended up having four employees helping him. Eventually he went to work with his older brother at Keith’s Garage in Charlotte. He learned the trade and then struck out on his own. He started Keith’s Auto Service which relocated several times due to Charlotte growing and the construction of new roads. By this time Harold and Virginia had three children and another on the way. Then Uncle Sam called and Harold was drafted into the US Navy during WWII. He went to Bainbridge, Maryland for basic training and then to Boston to become a boiler mechanic. While in the Naval office he overheard an officer complaining about his car that no one could fix. The officer shouted, “Is there anybody who knows something about fixing Fords?” Harold meekly responded "Back home some people think I know a little about Fords.”  He was allowed to repair the car, after which the officer said Harold was to be taken off the ship he had been assigned to and made his personal mechanic. Soon the war was over and Harold returned to his wife and four children and the need to rebuild his business. Sometimes Harold had to work so much his children didn’t get to see him. They would be in bed before he got home and he would leave for work before they got up. But all of a sudden on an occasional Saturday morning, he’d get the family in the car and head to the beach for the weekend. He eventually located his business at 9th and Graham and his sons joined him in the business. He ran it for 32 years and then after suffering a mild heart attack he turned the business over to one of his sons. But Harold, ever the entrepreneur, started dabbling in rental properties. He had a large tract of land where he had a massive garden and let the neighbors pick to their heart’s content. Huge bags of greens, green beans, okra and corn came out of that garden, along with bushel baskets of tomatoes. Eventually the land was filled with homes that he worked on and rented for the next 30 years until the age of 88. After his wife of 69 years passed away, he decided he was too old to manage all the homes, so he turned it all over to his sons to manage for him, while one daughter did all the bookkeeping. Although he had stopped working he had not stopped living. Many Bible verses come to mind when you think of Harold Keith. One is Psalm 127:3-5 “Children are a heritage from the Lord, offspring a reward from him. Like arrows in the hand of a warrior are children born in one’s youth. Blessed is the man who has his quiver full of them.” Harold’s quiver certainly was full. He ended up having seven children, sixteen grand children, twenty-eight great grandchildren, and five great great grandchildren. He loved having as many as could fit into his house come over on Holidays where huge meals were prepared and enjoyed and the laughter rang to the rooftop. His children remembered the fun they had on those sporadic beach trips so they decided to start going for a full week. Each year the whole family would rent a house and stay at Ocean Isle for a week. Then as the family grew it went to two houses. But Harold would go every year and soak up all the love from his family. They also held an annual bar-b-que either on Lake Norman or in the mountains of North Carolina, where huge vats of Brunswick Stew were made to go along with the smoked beef and pork. Much laughter, love and tales from old times were shared at these gatherings. Along the way he had taught his children and grand children the things that were important in life; to always be honest with others, and to always pay your bills. Harold never had a credit card but managed to raise a huge family and pay every penny he ever owed to anyone. He taught them by example of loving the Lord Jesus Christ, in whom he put his trust for eternal life. He took his children to church every Sunday, no matter what. He showed by example how to have a successful marriage, but when life happens and a divorce occurred, he opened his doors wide to accept a returning child and two grandchildren whom he loved and cherished. He had such a huge influence on so many people, beyond his own children and grandchildren, reaching out to nephews and nieces. It is amazing the things he has seen in his 100 years that he was blessed to live. The first Piggly Wiggly was opened when he was born; he was alive during WWI when the Red Baron shot down his first enemy. The first radio broadcast aired when he was four, bubble gum was invented when he was twelve. He remembered the Great Depression. He remembered sitting on the lap of his grandfather, who himself was a Civil War Veteran. To go from these things to today and to have seen all the things he has seen is truly amazing. God richly blessed Harold Christenbury Keith with a marvelous, long life of over 100 years. He lived at home and continued to go and do as he pleased, and had a clear memory which is unusual for someone his age. Then six weeks ago he suffered two hear attacks and started to decline. He had to go to a nursing home, but still was able to hold his great granddaughters on his lap and talk to them and share old memories with his children. He remained strong and alert until the last few days of his life. What a blessing! His legacy has been passed down to many who will remember him with loving, fond memories. But we are not sad, for we know he is now in Heaven with God and his loved ones that have gone on before him. Harold believed in the promise of eternal life for those that place their faith in Jesus Christ, which he had done. He will be missed and thought of often, but as he said in the past, he wanted all his children and grandchildren to live a good Christian life so that we can all be together for all eternity.

The family will receive friends at Asbury United Methodist Church, 11724 Asbury Chapel Road Huntersville, NC on Thursday, October 20, 2016 at 11 AM. A celebration of his life of over 100 years will commence at noon.