Published as it appeared on July 20, 1928, in the Corvallis Gazette-Times, Page 3, Column 4.
Body Interred Here — The remains of the late Susan Lorena Keyes, who died in Portland recently, were brought to Benton county for interment in Newton cemetery. A daughter of the late John and Susan Keyes, Miss Keyes was born in Benton county and grew to womanhood on the Keyes farm. She was a descendant of one of Benton county’s oldest pioneer families. Miss Keyes, who was aged 39 years, had been ill for some time prior to her death and the end was not unexpected. Relatives accompanied the body from Portland and attended the final commitment service.
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Editor’s note: Although her married name is not mentioned in the obituary, Hennessey appears on the grave marker. At age 27, she married Joseph Patrick Hennessey on July 20, 1918, in Olympia, Washington. A marriage record index shows her birth place as Corvallis. A family history book described her husband as a “light weight pugilist” — a term in that time period often used for a boxer — and indicates that “they moved around.” Family records show her birth as May 14, 1893, the daughter of John Keyes and Sara Brumfield (the obituary mentions her mother’s name as Susan). Census records in 1900 show that she lived with her mother and four siblings in a home on Main Street in Philomath. Her father, who was born in Tennessee, died when she was 3 years old.