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In Memory

Max Delmar Keaffaber - Class Of 1957 VIEW PROFILE

Max Delmar Keaffaber

         

Max Delmar Keaffaber

June 6, 1938 - February 23, 2022

Max Keaffaber passed away on February 23, 2022 at Scripps Memorial Hospital, La Jolla, California. He was predeceased by his parents Raymond and Jeannette (Morrical) Keaffaber, and his brother, Jack. Max was born on June 6, 1938, in Indiana. He graduated from Riley High School in South Bend, IN. At Indiana University, he graduated in 1963 with a Bachelor of Science degree in Business.

In the fall of his senior year at I.U., he met Janice Hatch, also a senior. It was the beginning of a grand adventure that would last 60 years. They married just after graduation and were soon traveling west on Route 66 to a new life in California. They drove an old white Buick that often overheated, and in the back seat was their new baby, Stacey! They traveled until they hit the end of 66 at the Santa Monica Pier, then cruised the beach and rented an apartment in Santa Monica Canyon, half a block from the ocean. Next, Max needed to find a job. He quickly did - at a bank. And from then on, he was a banker.

Part of the lure of California was the magic of making movies. Max secured a coveted Screen Actors Guild membership and appeared in many movies, tv series and commercials (Top Gun, Space, The Right Stuff, Little Nikita and more.) He was often in demand for his distinguished look, yet on his SAG resume, he listed his special skills to include yo-yo tricks and a hillbilly accent. His sports cars were often in demand too as he collected an Austin-Healey 3000, a Triumph TR6, and his last car, a Jaguar. His cars appeared in films as well.

Max was a risk-taker. He ran with the bulls in Pamplona, Spain six times. He swam with piranha and bubblegum pink dolphins in Peru's Amazon River. He was arrested many times for civil disobedience at the Nevada Nuclear Test Site. He played basketball, tennis, baseball, and for years participated in the Tecate to Ensenada Bike Race.

At the same time, he rescued dogs and adored them, each and every one, mostly Boxers, with two Saint Bernards and a Mexican Rottweiler thrown into the mix. There was also one 120 lb dog who was probably a Saint Bernard/Pit Bull mix and had obviously been used for dog fighting. Max fondly called him his Siberian Moose Herder.

Max also rescued people. He often brought home strangers needing help - the old woman he found crying in front of Von's, the young teen who was stranded and needed a ride, the mother at a highway rest stop. He changed her tire, gave her money for gas, and passed along his ice cream cone to her young son.

Max was known for his compassionate heart. He was the solid center of the family, and is deeply mourned by his wife, Janice, son Andrew, daughters Heather Clarke (Jason) and Stacey Keaffaber, and dear granddaughter, Ava Clarke. He was always there for each of them, loving, reliable, kind, funny and fun. The thought of going on without him is unbearable. He was treasured beyond words.

The family plans to have a memorial gathering at Kate Sessions Park later in the spring.

Fond memories and expressions of sympathy may be shared at www.pacificbeachchapel.com for the KEAFFABER family.

 

01/14/2023 DEC

 

Legacy.com

 
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01/15/23 10:11 AM #1    

David Louis Lerman (1957)

Max and I were good friends through out our Riley High School years. I remember him as a quiet shy guy but with a great sense of humor. We met at Francie Morris Uberits's house in LaJoya many years ago to renew our friendship. Sounds like he had a great life. My sympathies to his family.


01/17/23 04:49 PM #2    

Kent Richards (1957)

David,

Thanks for the good memorial statement.  Since I left Riley as a 10th grader I will have to say I do not recall Max.  I wish I had known him.  Did he go to Monroe?  I am trying to rack my memory.

Best and Happy New Year!

Kent


01/22/23 11:24 AM #3    

David Louis Lerman (1957)

I don't know where he went to grade school. I only know him from Riley.. Clearly  he blossomed as he aged.

Dave


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