Laurine Rosa Rosalie Schaffner Keeton McGee

Laurine Rosa Rosalie Schaffner Keeton McGee, God’s true and faithful servant, aged 99 years and 14 days, entered into the Kingdom of Heaven to reside with God the Father and his son Jesus Christ, on May 23, 2016. A family visitation will be held from 6 to 8 p.m. on Thursday, May 26, 2016, at Sanders Funeral Home. Services will be held Friday, May 27, 2016, at 10 a.m. in Lubbock’s Shepherd King Lutheran Church. Interment will follow in the City of Lubbock Cemetery under the directions of Sanders. Laurine Rosa Rosalie Schaffner was born on May 9, 1917, in De Witt County, Texas, to Charles and Ida (Mueller) Schaffner. Laurine moved to the Wilson Community with her family in 1925. Laurine was the valedictorian of the Wilson High School class of 1934. After she attended Draughon’s Business College in Lubbock (1936-37), she worked as a bookkeeper at Keeton Packing Plant, where she met Lenro Keeton. Laurine and Lenro were married by Pastor E. Herber on August 20, 1940, at St. John’s Lutheran Church in Wilson, Texas. World War II brought the rationing of gasoline, automobile tires and sugar to the Keeton household, but it also brought the birth of their first son, Kerry, in May 1942. Their second son, Kent, was born in June 1945. Laurine and Lenro celebrated their 25th Wedding Anniversary with a dance at the Catholic Hall in Slaton in August 1965. Lenro died of a heart attack at age 52 on November 7, 1966. Laurine and Emerson Roy “Mac” McGee were married on April 30, 1971, at Shepherd King Lutheran Church in Lubbock. Laurine and Mac loved Texas Tech sports, dancing and travel. They traveled all over the U.S.A. and Europe. Laurine and Mac celebrated their 25th Wedding Anniversary on April 30, 1996. Mac died on May 3, 1996. Laurine liked to cook her entire life, and her life was a never-ending search for new recipes. She owned hundreds of cookbooks and saved recipes from magazines every week until her 99th birthday. She constantly tried new recipes, and liked to cook for other people. Throughout her 8th decade and into her 9th decade, she made cookies, pies, cakes, casseroles and sandwiches for parties at Wedgewood South. In 2013, she moved to an apartment at Wedgewood South, where she spent three happy and comfortable years. Every day she read the Lubbock Avalanche Journal from front to back. She began reading the Lubbock Avalanche Journal in 1940, and read it every day until April, 2016. Laurine loved cooking, but shopping was the ultimate pleasure in her life. She didn’t have to buy anything to have fun shopping: just looking provided her special pleasure. She always headed for the sale table because saving money on an item was the icing on the shopping cake! Laurine was very proud of her German and Swiss ancestry. Laurine’s German ancestors have been Lutheran since the Reformation, and she was a dedicated Christian and proud to be a Lutheran. From the beginning of her life, she attended Sunday School and worship services regularly. Laurine was baptized on June 17, 1917, at St. John’s Lutheran Church in Westhoff, and she was confirmed on April 17, 1938, at St. Paul’s Lutheran Church in Wilson, Texas. She was a founding member of Shepherd King Lutheran Church in Lubbock (1946) and attended Sunday School and worship services at Shepherd King for 70 years. Laurine did not talk much about her religious beliefs; rather, she tried to live these beliefs. She believed that she was saved by her faith in Jesus Christ and that service to others was her Christian duty, a duty which she fulfilled by 70 years of service to others through the Lutheran Church. She is survived by her sons, Kerry Keeton of Manhattan KS, and Kent and Dianne Keeton of Castroville TX; six grandchildren, Kelley and John Berghager of Columbia MO, Stacey Pearl of St. Marys KS, Aaron and Ben Keeton of Kansas City MO, Chad and Amy Zimmerman of Schertz TX, and Brian Zimmerman of Universal City TX; seven great grandchildren, Alexa Berghager, Brittany, Sean and Caitlin Pearl, Cole, Austin and Luke Zimmerman. Laurine was preceded in death by her parents, Ida and Charley Schaffner, her sister, Alfreda Becker, her brother, Carlton Schaffner and her daughter-in-law, Gloria Jean Foerster Keeton. In lieu of flowers, the family requests that memorials be made to Shepherd King Lutheran Church, 2122-18th Street, Lubbock, Texas 79401.

Laurine Rosa Rosalie Schaffner Keeton McGee

May 9, 1917 - May 23, 2016