Winston A. Keene Sr., associate minister and retired security officer, has died at 80

Winston A. Keene Sr., 80, formerly of Philadelphia, former associate minister at Bethany Missionary Baptist Church and Vine Memorial Baptist Church, assistant to the pastor at Mount Ephraim Baptist Church, longtime private security officer, and veteran, died Sunday, May 19, of complications from double pneumonia at FirstHealth Moore Regional Hospital in Pinehurst, N.C.

The Rev. Keene and his family moved to West Philadelphia from New York in 1987, and he immersed himself soon after in religious life at Vine Memorial, Mount Ephraim, and Bethany Missionary churches. He joined Vine Memorial in 1994 and went on to serve as associate minister, deacon, coordinator of the men’s ministry, cochair of the Men’s Day celebration, and member of the men’s chorus.

He studied at what is now Palmer Theological Seminary in the late 1990s, was ordained at Vine Memorial in 2006, and became a Sunday school teacher and assistant to the pastor at Mount Ephraim. He later joined Bethany Missionary, became associate minister, and officiated at weddings, funerals, Sunday services, and other events.

Rev. Keene enjoyed interacting with people and was adept at evangelizing. He offered religious lectures and workshops to groups, and personal counseling to anyone in need. “I am a walking, living testimony because I have fallen to a point that I did not know that I would rise again,” he said in an online video.

He self-published When Self Fails You, God Will Sustain You in 2014, and a fellow pastor said in the book’s forward: “Rev. Keene is an outstanding leader with a dedicated heart to serve people, to evangelize, and equip people for the journey ahead.”

Rev. Keene was a dynamic speaker. He had his own YouTube channel, and he and his wife, Elaine, are featured in a video by the Christian Broadcast Network after he said God healed a knee injury he suffered in 2011.

He also worked as a constable in his hometown of Kingston, Jamaica, and later as a private security officer in New York and Philadelphia. In 1983, he was featured in newspaper articles in New York after he pursued and captured a fleeing bank robber in Queens.

“He exemplified an attitude of valor when faced with any situation,” his family said in a tribute. “He was an honorable, personable, and well-respected individual.”

Rev. Keene enjoyed dancing and music, especially reggae, as a young man, and he was a disc jockey for years at clubs, parties, weddings, family affairs, and other events. He bought his own sound system and other equipment, and named his enterprise El-Win Disco, a salute to his union with his wife.

“To know Winston was to love him,” his family said. “He was admirable, charismatic, selfless, a trendsetter, and most of all, a child of God.”

Winston Audrey Keene was born Nov. 9, 1943, in Kingston. He met Elaine Thompson through a friend, and they married in 1965, and had daughters Denise and Tricia, and sons Rohan, Winston Jr., Andrew, and Sean.

He and his family lived in Jamaica and Grand Bahama before moving to New York in 1971. He worked as a firefighter in Grand Bahama, served stateside in the Army in the late 1970s, and moved from Philadelphia to Southern Pines, N.C., in 2012.

Rev. Keene loved to cook, and family and friends made sure to be at his table when he served his specialties of fried dumplings, jerk chicken, and cabbage and crabmeat. He also liked to drive, and he and his wife traveled the country together, and enjoyed cruises and visits to family.

He overcame several heart and lung ailments, and served as chaplain at one of his hospitals. “He was outgoing but no-nonsense,” his wife said. “He had a soft side but always told you how he felt. The main thing was, he loved his family.”

In addition to his wife and children, Rev. Keene is survived by 14 grandchildren, nine great-grandchildren, four sisters, three brothers, and other relatives. A sister and grandson died earlier.

Services were held on May 25 in North Carolina and June 3 in Philadelphia.

Donations in his name may be made to the American Heart Association, Box 840692, Dallas, Texas 75284.