Gayle Martin Keefe

Gayle Martin Keefe died peacefully on October 27, 2024. She was 93 years old. Mrs. Keefe was a beloved mother and Grammy, counting herself among the delighted few who wear the crown of a great-grandmother. 
Gayle was born on September 27, 1931, at Onward Plantation, Mississippi to Allie Gertrude Bankston Martin and James Monroe Martin. She was their fourth daughter. 
Gayle was a Golden Girl who graduated from MSCW in 1952 with a degree in English. After graduation and young motherhood, she spent many years teaching school in Louisiana. Later in life Gayle moved to Jackson, Mississippi where she worked at Hinds Community College as a librarian until she retired to Columbus, MS. 
After 93 years of living, she was preceded in death by a great many people she loved. Early in life, she lost her first husband, Fred Dawson Courtney. Much later she lost her second husband, James Edward Keefe. She was preceded in death by her parents, James and Allie Martin; her sisters, Frances Martin Gant, Kay Martin Temple, and Anne Martin Haigler; and her brother, James Malcolm Martin. She was also preceded in death by her eldest son, Jeffrey Barron Courtney Keefe. 
She is survived by a great many people she loved as well. She is survived by her daughters Karen Courtney Keefe Henry of Columbus, MS and Gayle Marie Keefe Monroe (Tim) of Lufkin, TX and her youngest son, James Edward Keefe, Jr of Jackson, MS. She was the beloved Grammy of her 3 grandchildren Jeffrey Beauregard Henry (Anna), Allie Courtney Henry Workmon (Charlie), and Katheryn Grace Henry Zumo (Luke), as well as her 15 great-grandchildren. 
Gayle’s life will be remembered during a graveside service at Raymond Cemetery in Raymond, MS on Monday, November 4, 2024 at 11:00 am with Fr. Robert Dore officiating.