Marvin Keene

Marvin Lloyd Keene Sr., 72, of Birmingham, Ala., passed away Sunday, March 30, 2014, in Birmingham, from complications of diabetes.

He was born to the late Lucille and Harold Keene on Dec. 13, 1941, at Sugar Tree Ridge in New Madrid County, Mo.

After graduating from Portageville High School in 1960, he worked odd jobs around Cape Girardeau and on the construction of Interstate 55.

He was married in 1963 and moved to New Orleans where he had previously lived while doing a short stint in the Merchant Marine. Marvin Sr. supported his young family as a stevedore and roofer, eventually owning his own roofing company.

However, he always had a passion for horses. In 1966 he was Southeast Louisiana Reining Champion in Baton Rouge where he established a new world record time for barrel racing in a rare circumstance when men contested this event. He eventually acquired quarter horses and raced them at match tracks throughout Cajun country.

At the end of the 1960s he moved into organized racing and training thoroughbreds. As a horse trainer, his charges won over 400 races at organized tracks through 1988.

During the 1990s he worked across the country with a crew installing alarm systems for apartment buildings. As poor health started to slow him down, he moved first to Texas and then to Alabama in 2001.

In his later years he enjoyed gardening and raising poultry. Most of all, he made friends wherever he went and enjoyed their company immensely.

Marvin Sr. is survived by a son, Marvin Jr. and daughter-in-law Alexandra "Sandy" of Birmingham; a daughter, Tara and son-in-law Greg Roenfeldt of Chicago; a son, Kyle of Chicago; three grandchildren, Veronica "Roni" and Logan Keene of Birmingham and Payton Elizabeth of Chicago; two brothers, Joe and sister-in-law Donna of Kennett, Mo., and Johnie and sister-in-law Brenda of Jackson; and five nephews and their spouses. He will be remembered by cousins, aunts and uncles, many of whom live in Sikeston, Mo.; many friends; and former wife, Phyllis Heise.

He was preceded in death by his parents; a brother, Eddie; and a sister, Virginia "Ginger" and her husband, Robert Brawley.

Visitation and reception is scheduled from 6 to 7 p.m. Wednesday at Nunnelee Funeral Chapel, 205 N. Stoddard St. in Sikeston.

The funeral will be at 10 a.m. Thursday at the chapel, with Marvin's cousin, the Rev. Delores Redfering-Grindstaff, officiating. Interment will be in Evergreen Cemetery on U.S. 61 in New Madrid, Mo.

Southern Heritage Funeral Home in Pelham, Ala., was in charge of arrangements.

To send condolences, visit dignitymemorial.com/nunnelee-funeral-chapel.