Obituary of Mary Keba

Mary Burns Keba, 71, passed away at home in San Francisco after a long illness on March 4, 2023. She was cared for by David Keba, her devoted husband of 37 years. Born in New York City to parents Patrick Burns and Claire Farley, Mary and her four siblings lived in a small apartment on East 20th Street, about which stories are now family legend. Eventually moving to Westchester, Mary graduated from Our Lady of Victory Academy in Dobbs Ferry, NY in 1968, and went on to the State University of New York at Plattsburgh, where she became a member of the Alpha Kappa Phi sorority, met her future husband Dave, and graduated in 1972. Mary obtained her Master of Library Science at the State University of Albany the following year and enjoyed a wide-ranging career as a librarian for public, private, and corporate entities. Her first job was at Baker & Taylor in Somerville, NJ, and in the mid-seventies, she moved to Massachusetts to work at the Medford Public Library. She continued her career in New York City at S&P Global Inc for the next 7 years, and after moving to San Francisco in 1986, she was a librarian at the Bay Area Air Quality Management District for almost ten years before retiring in 2010. She was always grateful to her uncle Jack Farley and her stepfather Arthur Rauhauser for their help and guidance in her early working years. In 1986, Mary and Dave (formerly of St. Johnsville, NY) were married in San Francisco. They lived in the lower Pacific Heights area of San Francisco for their 37 years of marriage and greatly enjoyed the many pleasures of their adoptive city together. As an avid lover of folk music who played the banjo in her younger days, Mary regularly attended performances around the Bay area. She was well known for her sharp wit and irreverent sense of humor, as well as her love of shopping and an infamous shoe collection. Mary is survived by her husband Dave, her sisters Patricia Nicholson and Kathy Macmillan, nephews Jeremy Burn, Robert Burns and Paul, Robert and Tom Nicholson, niece Jane Burn, and her beloved cat Milo. Also survived by brother-in-law Paul Nicholson, cousins Eugene and Janet Farley, sister-in-law Mercedes Burns and dear friends Rusty Kearns and Richard Zaineldeen of New York City. Mary was predeceased by her sister, Christine Burns, and her brother, Robert Burns. There will be a memorial for Mary in New York City in the fall. Her remains will be interred in St. Johnsville, NY. In lieu of flowers, the family suggests a donation in Mary’s name to any chapter of the ASPCA.