Baylor Mourns Passing of Former Texas Collection Director Kent Keeth

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WACO, Texas (Jan. 2, 2018) – Kent Keeth, who directed The Texas Collection at Baylor University from 1973 until 2003, died last week in his Waco home. He was 79. Services are pending.

During his 30 years as director, Keeth expanded the size and range of The Texas Collection, and also extended its prominence throughout Texas and beyond. The Texas Collection was established in 1923, and serves as a special library, archival research center and the University Archive that collects, preserves and provides access to materials documenting the history, heritage and culture of Texas for the Baylor community and the public.

Keeth enriched the Baylor Libraries’ collection of Texana, focusing on collecting not only historic artifacts but also printed pieces, from postcards to cookbooks, representative of contemporary Texas culture. He believed that future generations looking back at Texas history would require a wide array of materials to understand the complex subtleties of the lives of modern Texans.

Keeth remained active with American and Texas historical societies, often presenting papers and public talks on U.S. and Texas history. He also was a certified archivist and presented papers focused on his work at The Texas Collection at national and regional meetings. In 1981, Texas Gov. Bill Clements appointed Keeth to the Texas Historical Records Advisory Board.

Keeth may be best known to the Baylor community through his regular contributions to the Baylor Line magazine about the University’s rich history. For more than a decade, he provided glimpses into Baylor’s history rooted in materials he had at his disposal at The Texas Collection.

Beyond Baylor, Keeth was instrumental — along with his wife, Lucy — in establishing the Sanger Heights Neighborhood Association in 1984. Through their leadership within the association, they worked with the city of Waco to preserve historic homes in the north Waco area and make other substantial civic improvements.

“Kent was a scholar, superb teacher and gifted writer,” said John Wilson, interim dean of the Baylor Libraries and current director of The Texas Collection. “He had a brilliant mind and a witty sense of humor. I always enjoyed reading his contributions to the Baylor Line. He packed more into those reflections on Baylor history than I thought possible. He will be deeply missed by The Texas Collection, Baylor University and the citizens of Waco.”

Keeth was born Aug. 25, 1938, in Marshall, Texas. He attended Baylor University and graduated in 1960 with a B.A. in history with minors in English, Spanish, philosophy and economics. He earned an M.A. in history from the University of Wisconsin-Madison in 1961 and a master’s degree in library science from the University of California-Berkeley the following year. From 1962 to 1964, Keeth organized and began operations of a new library at the Malaysian Teachers College in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.

From 1965 to 1968, Keeth worked as a reference librarian for the Legislative Reference Service of the Library of Congress in Washington, D.C. His duties included reference and research services for members of Congress, congressional committees and their staffs. He then returned home to Texas, serving as an archivist for the Eugene C. Barker Texas History Center at the University of Texas at Austin and, on June 1, 1973, at the request of Baylor President Abner V. McCall, returning to his alma mater as director of The Texas Collection.

Keeth was preceded in death by his wife in 1999. She also was a librarian who served Southwestern University, The University of Texas at Austin and Baylor University.

ABOUT BAYLOR UNIVERSITY

Baylor University is a private Christian University and a nationally ranked research institution. The University provides a vibrant campus community for more than 17,000 students by blending interdisciplinary research with an international reputation for educational excellence and a faculty commitment to teaching and scholarship. Chartered in 1845 by the Republic of Texas through the efforts of Baptist pioneers, Baylor is the oldest continually operating University in Texas. Located in Waco, Baylor welcomes students from all 50 states and more than 80 countries to study a broad range of degrees among its 12 nationally recognized academic divisions.

ABOUT THE BAYLOR UNIVERSITY LIBRARIES

The Baylor University Libraries support excellence in teaching and learning, enhance research and discovery and foster scholarship and success. Through its Central Libraries and special collections –Armstrong Browning Library, W.R. Poage Legislative Library and The Texas Collection –the Libraries serve as academic life centers that provide scholarly resources and technological innovation for the Baylor community and beyond.