Passing of Councillor Joseph A. O’Keefe Sr

From: Robert McCarthy

Councillor Ward One

Passing of Councillor Joseph A. O’Keefe, Sr.

SALEM, MA – At approximately 1:45 p.m. this afternoon, Ward 7 City Councillor and former Massachusetts State Fire Marshal Joseph A. O’Keefe, Sr., passed away at the Kaplan Family Hospice House in Danvers, surrounded by his family.

Councillor O'Keefe, the dean of the Salem City Council, was elected to the Ward 7 seat in 2000, but served prior to that as the Ward 2 Councillor from 1962 to 1973 and on the Salem School Committee from 1975-1979. For 15 years he was the Massachusetts Fire Marshal, from 1977 to 1992. Councillor O'Keefe was a lector at Immaculate Conception Church of Salem and a member of the Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 1524. He held a Master's degree in education from Harvard University and an undergraduate degree in fire safety technology from Oklahoma State University.

“We want to say thank you to everyone who wrote, called, or reached out over the difficult last few days,” the O’Keefe family stated. “We are all incredibly saddened to say goodbye to a man who was such a loving and beloved husband, father, brother, grandfather, and great grandfather. He has touched the lives of so many people, not just in our family, but also in this community, in such a positive way. Joe was a man of integrity, who thought of others before himself and never hesitated to speak his mind. He served the public and his country with honor and distinction, but never lost perspective of what mattered most: his family.”

“I am deeply saddened by the passing of Councillor O’Keefe, a man whose love of Salem was only exceeded by his love for his family,” said Salem Mayor Kim Driscoll. “Joe was a dear friend and colleague, someone whose warmth and generosity were unmatched. My most sincere condolences go out to Camille and the entire O’Keefe family. In everything he did, everything said, and every action he took, Joe always put the people of Salem first. His compassionate and energetic voice will be missed on the Council, in City Hall, and throughout our City. Joe always liked to remind us: ‘family first’. But I think in his 26 years on the City Council he demonstrated more clearly than anyone could that, in a way, all of Salem was Joe’s family.”

A wake will be held from 4:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. on Friday, September 18, with a funeral mass scheduled for Saturday, September 19, at 10:00 a.m. Both the wake and funeral will be held at Immaculate Conception Church, 30 Union Street, in Salem and are open to the public.

Robert K McCarthy

Councillor Ward One