On November 25th, 2019 Keith Elliott Gear our loving husband, father, son, brother and friend passed away at his home at the age 60.
Keith was born on July 15, 1959 to Ida and Curtis Gear formally of Madison, Wisconsin. On July 9,1986 he married his beloved and devoted wife of 33 years Lynn Margaret Duncan of Aberdeen, Scotland. They raised two beautiful children and a service dog, son Nathan John Gear and daughter Natalie Kaelyn Gear, his service dog Neo.
Keith was a graduate of James Madison Memorial High School 1977, Madison, Wisconsin. He was a member of the wrestling and cross-country team. He studied Forestry at University of Wisconsin Stevens point before receiving a degree from Divers Institute of Technology in Seattle Washington in Marine Technology in 1979. Shortly after receiving his degree he landed his dream job as a Certified Commercial Deep Sea Diver. He worked as a commercial Scuba Diver in the North Sea with Sub Sea International Corp in Aberdeen Scotland for 10 years, before moving back to the United States. He then worked as Production Manager for Rincon Engineering, Carpentaria, CA for 16 years. Keith retired as the Production Manager for Birns, Inc in Oxnard, CA where he worked for 11 years.
He loved spending time with his family and walking his dog. He was an avid fisherman and loved camping with his friends. He was exceptional cook. He enjoyed traveling the world and was brilliant at fixing just about anything his kids happened to break. He was not afraid of sharing his unfiltered opinion and had a quick-witted sense of humor.
Keith was a brave advocate for his fierce battle against cancer, diagnosed 7 years ago. He championed his survival by reading, understanding and discussing his disease and treatment options with his Doctors. Keith was an inspiration to us all.
Keith was loved by his family, and many lifelong friends and will be deeply missed. He is survived by his Spouse Lynn Margaret Gear, children; Nathan and Natalie Gear, his loving service dog Neo, of Ventura CA. Parents; Curtis and Ida Gear of Oak Bluffs, MA, Siblings; proceeded in death Jeff Gear. Surviving siblings; Kenneth Gear (Selene Hitchcock-Gear), Chevy Chase MD, Karen Gear (Michael Ryan) of Oak Bluffs MA, Bruce Gear, Owings Mills, MD, Aunt Bonita Love, Gretna VA, Uncles John Dearing San Francisco, CA, and Sherman Dearing Gretna VA, a host of nieces and nephews and cousins.
A memorial service to celebrate his life will be held at:
Joseph P. Reardon Funeral Home & Cremation Service, 757 E Main St, Ventura, CA 93001 at 10:00 AM, Friday the 29th of November.
In lieu of flowers, please send donations to:
Donate Online: Link to donate: http://support.pancreatic.org/goto/Keithgear
Donate by mail: Make check out to: Hirshberg Foundation
Send to: 2990 S. Sepulveda Blvd. Ste. 300C, Los Angeles, CA 90034. Write Keith Gear in check memo.