Carolyn Keith

(From Ozark Funeral Home)

Carolyn Sue Keith, age 83, of Anderson, Missouri, departed this life on Tuesday evening, July 28, 2026, at Grandwood Assisted Living in Grove, Oklahoma, after months of failing health.

Sue was born on April 25, 1943, in Stella, Missouri, the eldest of five children born to the union of the late, Tharold and Bernice (Durham) Harris. She was raised and attended school in Anderson, Missouri. Her parents owned the Dairy Cone in Anderson, and Sue worked there as a youth. It was while working at the Dairy Cone that Sue met Alfred Felix “Bud” Keith, who had recently returned home from the Navy. Their meeting began a love story that would span more than six decades. Sue and Bud were married on August 27, 1959 and to this union, two sons were born.

Sue was a homemaker while her boys were growing up. She also took great pride in being a Brownie leader and was involved with the Girl Scouts for many years. After her sons reached high school age, she joined Bud at the Farmers Insurance Agency in Neosho. In 1982, Sue and Bud moved to Tulsa, Oklahoma, so Bud could attend Oral Roberts University. They later lived in Connecticut for a few years before moving to Lowell, Arkansas, in 1989. Sue eventually retired from the WalMart Home Office after twenty plus years of service. She was a longtime member of Victory Road Church and loved to serve the Lord. Sue and Bud really loved working in the ministry. Over their years together, they were a wonderful team in reaching the lost and pastoring several different churches.

She loved sewing, horseback riding, camping, traveling, her flowers, Avon and baking. She especially cherished time spent with her grandchildren, who brought her immense happiness and pride. She also had a special affection for all things wrought iron and was affectionately known as the “Wrought Iron Queen.”


She leaves behind one son, Randy Keith and his wife, Melissa, of Anderson; a daughter-in-law, Kathy Keith, of Berryville, Arkansas; five grandchildren, Kylie Hunt and her husband, Sean, Hailey Gilmore and her husband, Jeff, Oliva Writer and her husband, Anthony, Makayla Keith, and Levi Keith; one great-granddaughter, Ada Writer; two sisters, Jo McClellan and husband, Rick, of Shawnee, Kansas, and Jolene Nipp and husband, Terry, of Branson West, Missouri; as well as a host of other family and friends who will miss her dearly.

She was preceded in death by her parents, Tharold and Bernice Harris; her husband of sixty-six years, Bud Keith, on May 3, 2026; a son, Alfred T. “Buddy” Keith; a nephew, Stan Keith; two siblings, Larry Harris and Barbara Cope; and a brother-in-law Galen Cope.

Funeral services are 11:00 a.m. Tuesday, August 4, 2026 at Ozark Funeral Home in Anderson, Missouri. Burial will follow at Peace Valley Cemetery in Anderson. Those honoring her life by serving as pallbearers are Levi Keith, Whitley Nipp, Sean Hunt, Anthony Writer, Terry Nipp and Rick McClellan. The family will receive friends on Tuesday morning beginning at 9:30 a.m. in the funeral home chapel. Arrangements are under the care of Ozark Funeral Home in Anderson, Missouri.