Keith Davis

F. Keith Davis, 95, of Newman Grove, NE passed away on Friday, December 8, 2023, at the Mid-Nebraska Lutheran Home in Newman Grove, NE.

Keith's wishes were to be cremated and a graveside service will be held at a later date at the Dell Rapids Cemetery in Dell Rapids, SD.

Levander Funeral Home in Newman Grove, NE is in charge of the arrangements.

Francis Keith Davis, son of Martin M. and Anna C. (Weber) Davis, was born on October 23, 1928, in Bloomington, WI. He attended grade school in Mitchell, SD and graduated from high school in Dell Rapids, SD in 1946. Keith went on to further his education at South Dakota State University where he graduated in 1950 with a degree in civil engineering.

Following college graduation, Keith joined Howard, Needles, Tammen, and Bergendoff, a bridge engineering firm, at their Kansas City office. After spending seven months with the firm as a Designer-Detailer on structural plans for the Denver-Boulder Turnpike, he entered the U.S. Army. During his tenure of service, he spent nearly two years in the Philippine Islands as part of a topographic battalion.

In January 1953, Keith returned to the engineering firm as a member of George Acre's Bridge Section. Keith was married to Roberta "Bobbi" Dean Anderson on May 25, 1957 at Kansas City. When asked about what some of his proudest achievements in his expansive career throughout the U.S. would include, Keith said a pair of six-mile bridges with 800-foot arch spans over a river crossing in Mobile, AL. He was also involved in the design of the Broadway Bridge, 1-435, Heart of America, and Leavenworth bridges as well as the Missouri River Bridge at Omaha, NE, and the massive I-235 bridge in Des Moines over the Iowa river. Although he officially retired from the firm, Keith was a design consultant into his 90's and lived in Kansas City until this past summer when failing health meant a relocation near family in Newman Grove, NE.

Keith is survived by his daughter-in-law: Rebecca Davis of Warrenton, VA; sister-in-law: Donna Davis of Baton Rouge, LA; two sisters: Maureen (Otto) Muecke of Mayville, ND; Betty (Steve) King of Newman Grove, NE; as well as many nieces and nephews.

He was preceded in death by his parents; wife: Roberta; son: Mark Davis; sister and brother-in-law: Patricia and Merlyn Fossum; and brother: Dean Davis.