The Rev. Dr. Gordon “Bucky” McKeeman

The Rev. Dr. Gordon “Bucky” McKeeman, passionate Universalist, beloved mentor, devoted institutionalist, lover of life, of humanity, and of ministry, died peacefully at age 93 on December 18, 2013, at Madonna Towers, a Benedictine retirement and care facility in Rochester, Minnesota.

Through the living of his life, the wisdom of his words, and the gentleness of his spirit, Gordon touched the lives of untold numbers of laypeople and ministers.  Younger colleagues recall Gordon as “a kind of spiritual grandfather” (Amy Zucker Morgenstern) and as a Universalist “ancient of days, as bright and new as our most recent breath” (James Ishmael Ford).  Honored by the Conference in Berry Street as its essayist for 1993, he said:

“We are lovers; we say Yes to each other, Yes to life—to more and more of life—to its brevity, its grief, its disappointments, to its possibilities, its magnificence, its glory.  We quarrel because we glimpse further possibilities—the non-sense—and wish to lay claim to it.  We remember death, and that life is brief, and that the time for love is now and more is possible—one more step toward the holy.  It is to know the peace that passes understanding and that there is no peace.  It is to love others as they are, warts and all, and to believe that more is possible, and to bespeak that wanting.  It is to pray “Give us this day our daily bread” and to know that we do not live by bread alone.  It is to remember death, and to love life and to accept them both as holy.”

Gordon Butler McKeeman was born in Lynn, Mass, on September 12, 1920, to William Neil and Lena Mabel (Goodridge) McKeeman. He graduated from Lynn English High School in 1938 and from Salem State College with a B. S. in Education in 1942.  On Nov. 5, 1944, in Lynn, Mass., Gordon wedded Phyllis Bradstreet.  He went on to receive his ministry degree in 1945 from the Universalist School of Religion at Tufts University. In 1969 he was granted an honorary doctorate by Meadville Lombard Theological School.

Mr. McKeeman was first called to serve All Souls Universalist Church of Worcester, Mass, 1944-1950, where he was ordained in 1945.  He went on to the First Parish Universalist Church of Stoughton, Mass, 1950-1955, St. Paul’s Church of Palmer, Mass, 1955-1961, and then the Unitarian Universalist Church of Akron, Ohio, 1961-1983, where he was named Minister Emeritus.  In 1983, he accepted the invitation to serve as President of Starr King School for the Ministry in Berkeley, California, doing so faithfully until 1988.

Deeply committed to Universalism, he was a charter member of The Humiliati (the humble ones), a group of Tufts students and alumni formed in 1945, whose vision “stressed that human beings are impelled, not compelled, by the power of God to fulfill the good potential of their lives. The impulse toward wholeness in humanity is predisposed to good, though it can be weakened or distorted by chaos and conflict. Authentic worship keeps it alive and restores its integrity.” When the group disbanded in 1954, members elected Mr. McKeeman as their lifetime Abbot. With others of The Humiliati, he then joined The Fraters of the Wayside Inn. This ministerial study group, founded by Universalist ministers in 1903, expanded, after Universalist and Unitarian consolidation, to include ministers with Unitarian and combined ordination. Gordon advocated for admission of women to the group, a step finally realized in 1989. In his later years, Gordon treasured mementos and memories of his years with The Fraters and reflected wistfully upon being the last living member of The Humiliati.

During his years in parish ministry, the Rev Mr. McKeeman engaged in civic life with zeal. He held various offices on the Unity Community Council, served on the board of the Akron Rotary Club, founded the Fair Housing Contact Service, and founded the Planned Parenthood chapter of Akron. He also served on the adjunct faculty at the University of Akron.

Heavily invested in and committed to Universalist tradition and institutions, Gordon McKeeman served as Vice President of the Massachusetts Universalist Convention, and President of the Massachusetts Universalist Ministers’ Association. At Ferry Beach he and his wife Phyllis served as youth leaders. After moving to Ohio, he served as the President of the Ohio-Meadville District, Vice President and President of the UU Service Committee, and Vice Moderator of the UUA Board of Trustees. The Rev. Mr. McKeeman received the Angus H. MacLean Award from the Unitarian Universalist Association in 1982. He and Phyllis were jointly honored with the UUA Distinguished Service Award in 1993.

Gordon McKeeman placed high value on lay ministry. The Ohio Meadville District’s Commissioned Lay Leader program is an outgrowth of his grounding in Universalism and his understanding of the importance of lay leadership that emerges from within congregations, nourished through well-informed and intentional training. But he could look with wry humor on some of the absurdities of professional ministry. In speaking to colleagues on the 50th anniversary year of his ordination, he offered to sum up his ministry in three numbers:  books read since graduation from seminary – 738; books purchased over that same time – 2155; books told by parishioners that he “must read” – 6784 (not exact numbers but the gist is accurate).

The Rev Dr. McKeeman’s presidency of Starr King School for the Ministry afforded him the opportunity to reflect more deeply on the manifold richness and meanings of ministry. In a booklet of meditations, Out of the Ordinary, he wrote a reflection on Ministry:

“Ministry is a quality of relationship between and among human beings that beckons forth hidden possibilities; inviting people into deeper, more constant more reverent relationship with the world and with one another; carrying forward a long heritage of hope and liberation that has dignified and informed the human venture over many centuries; being present with, to, and for others in their terrors and torments, in their grief, misery and pain; knowing that those feelings are our feelings, too; celebrating the triumphs of the human spirit, the miracles of birth and life, the wonders of devotion and sacrifice; witnessing to life-enhancing values; speaking truth to power; speaking for human dignity and equity, for compassion and aspiration; believing in life in the presence of death; struggling for human responsibility against principalities and structures that ignore humaneness and become instruments of death. It is all these and much, much more than all of them, present in the wordless, the unspoken, the ineffable. It is speaking and living the highest we know and living with the knowledge that it is never as deep, or as wide or a high as we wish. Whenever there is a meeting that summons us to our better selves, wherever our lostness is found, our fragments are united, our wounds begin healing, our spines stiffen and our muscles grow strong for the task, there is ministry.”

“I cherished every opportunity I had to be in conversation with Gordon,” recalls the Rev. Dr. Rebecca Parker, president of Starr King School from 1990 to 2014. “As he did for so many people, Gordon’s friendship, compassion, and counsel steadied me and nurtured my development. His theological depth was inspiring and his acerbic wit rescued me from many moments of despair!”

Gordon McKeeman’s influence on the shape and vision of Unitarian Universalist ministry endures with towering stature and gentle presence.

Gordon is survived by his wife of 69 years, Phyllis; sons, Bruce, Glenn, and Randall; four grandchildren; and sister, Gloria King. A memorial service was conducted by the Rev. Dr. Carol Hepokoski on December 29, 2013, at the First Unitarian Universalist Church of Rochester, Minnesota.

Memorial contributions may be made to the Unitarian Universalist Service Committee, the McKeeman Fund at Starr King, or to a charity of donor’s choice.