Keaton, Joseph Allen
Joseph Allen Keaton, (not your “average Joe”), 87 was called home to be with our Lord on June 30th, 2024, after fighting a long and courageous battle with heart disease.
He was born to Earl and Gertrude Keaton in Scottsdale, Indiana. Joe was the 3rd born of 4 siblings, Marilyn, Richard and Ronald. As very young children they worked tirelessly in the family business cleaning furnaces. Growing up during the great Depression, Joe learned the value of hard work, picked up a local paper route and worked long shifts at the corner Piggly Wiggly.
His dedication to our country led him to enlist in the US Navy as a Naval Communicator, where he served 4 years on the USS Agerholm. He then joined the Foreign Service, which took him to Hong Kong where he met the love of his life, Sakina.
The two traveled together across 6 continents, meeting many lifelong friends over the years. During this time, they had 3 daughters, Sonja, Tyla, and Aisha. They settled down in Northern VA where they resided for the next 32 years and operated Simply Country Store and Catering. Along with their business, he contributed selflessly and faithfully to his community including his leadership as an elder at Fairfax Christian Church.
He will always be remembered for loving his family fiercely, his humble and kind nature and his loyalty to his friends and colleagues. We take comfort in knowing that he is now reunited with his Lord, and friends and family that have passed before him. He will be forever cracking jokes and playing an eternal game of chess.
Joe is survived by his wife, Sakina Keaton; and his daughters, Sonja K Leslie and husband Leonard G Leslie, Tyla J Bird and Jeffrey S. Bird, and Aisha C. Keaton; Grandchildren, Joshua Bird, Benjamin Bird, Bray Leslie, Olivia Barber, Ava Leslie, Sydney Bird, and Amelia Maher; Many nieces and nephews, and family and friends.
In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions may be made to the American Heart Association www.heart.org
The family will receive friends from 1:00 to 2:00 p.m. on Friday, July 5, 2024, at Horne Funeral Home. Funeral services will follow at 2:00 p.m. in the Horne Funeral Home Chapel. Interment will follow at Sunset Cemetery.
The Funeral Service will be broadcast live on the Horne Funeral Service Facebook page by clicking the following link: https://www.facebook.com/Hornefuneralservice/