Erik Kenneth Keeney, age 43, of Fairview Heights, IL, born on October 12, 1977, in Belleville, IL, passed away on Sunday, July 4, 2021, in Fairview Heights, IL.
Erik graduated from Althoff Catholic High School in Belleville, IL, and Naropa University in Boulder, CO with a degree in Transpersonal Psychology.
His faith led him to research Buddhism, study in Bhutan and become a Trappist monk at St. Benedict’s Monastery in Snowmass, CO. Erik left the monastery in 2018 and continued his journey. He will be remembered as generous, loving, kind and full of the spirit…always studying and practicing spirituality.
Early in his career, Erik worked as a telecommunications technician for IBEW Local 309. He taught yoga, meditation, and Centering Prayer on many of his travels, including England, Ireland, and Mexico. Through a program in Oxford, England, he helped organize and lead an East-West spiritual exchange trip to a Buddhist monastery in Bhutan, a place that became a second spiritual home for him. Recently, Erik began writing a book on his time spent at the monastery with his spiritual mentor, teacher, and friend, Thomas Keating O.C.S.O.
Erik was preceded in death by his maternal grandparents, Ray and Stephanie Kritis, and his paternal grandparents, Charles and Peggy Keeney.
In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to those in need…a continuing thread throughout Erik’s life.
He is survived by his daughter, Alexis Hutt, and his son, Logan Keeney; his parents, Kenneth and Carol Keeney; his brother, Christopher; his sister-in-law, Rachel; his niece, Clare; and his nephew, Louis. He is also survived by numerous aunts, uncles, cousins, and friends he met all over the world.
Visitation will be held on Friday, July 9, 2021, from 9:00 a.m. to 10:45 a.m. at Holy Trinity Catholic Church, Fairview Heights, IL.
A Funeral Mass will be celebrated on Friday, July 9, 2021, at 11:00 a.m. at Holy Trinity Catholic Church, Fairview Heights, IL, with Fr. James Nall officiating. A private, family burial will follow.
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