Bobby Keen, the Greenfield man credited with transforming Hancock Regional Hospital into a thriving healthcare institution during his 20 years as president and CEO, passed away Dec. 20 at the age of 74.
GREENFIELD — Bobby Keen, the Greenfield man credited with transforming Hancock Regional Hospital into a thriving healthcare institution during his 20 years as president and CEO, passed away Dec. 20 at the age of 74.
After laying him to rest Thursday afternoon, his wife and children took comfort in the steady stream of fond remembrances being posted to Facebook throughout the day.
“Bobby had a heart for servant leadership,” said his wife Peggy. “He saw opportunities in the community and healthcare as living out his faith. Bobby touched so many lives for good in that service, and used his gifts wisely,” she said.
Steve Long, who succeeded Keen as president and CEO of Hancock Health in 2014, said Keen was instrumental in transforming Hancock Regional from “a small county hospital to a true regional healthcare provider.”
“Hancock Health was forever changed by the leadership of Bobby Keen. As we move into the future, everything we do is built on the foundation he began to lay nearly three decades ago,” said Long. “He believed his personal mission was caring for the community, one person at a time.”
Keen racked up a number of achievements and accolades throughout his life, including the Sagamore of the Wabash — the highest honor Indiana’s governor can bestow.
He was also an ordained deacon in the Baptist church, serving several churches over the years, most recently attending Park Chapel Christian Church in Greenfield the past two decades.
Of all his accomplishments, the thing Keen was most proud of was his wife and children — Ashley Petry, Sarah Book and Nathan Keen — and his grandson Declan.
Keen married his wife Peggy in 1973, and passed away less than a year shy of the couple’s 50th anniversary.
Both he and his wife were born and raised in Alabama, where he graduated as salutatorian at Billingsley High School in 1966.
He then attended Auburn University, where he earned a bachelor’s degree in 1970 and a master’s in 1972. He would later earn a doctorate degree from Purdue University in 1985.
While in college, Keen co-founded a FarmHouse Fraternity chapter and would later serve the international organization as both a board member and president. He also served on the FarmHouse Foundation Board and was given the Master Builder of Men Award, the fraternity’s highest honor.
After graduating from Auburn, Keen served a short stint as a transportation officer for the U.S. Army. The Vietnam War soon came to an end, and he found himself back at the university, this time as dean of students.
Keen continued his military service in the National Guard and U.S. Army Reserves, serving a total of 26 years while building his career as a hospital administrator.
During his two decades at the helm for Hancock Regional Hospital starting in 1994, Keen served as chairman of both the Indiana Hospital Association and the Hospital Council of the Indiana State Department of Health.
After retiring in 2014, he spent much of his time back on his cherished family farm in Billingsley. In his obituary, his family wrote that Keen felt that God had loaned him the property, and his mission was to “make Him glad he did.”
As she prepared to face Christmas without him by her side, Peggy Keen reflected on what a wonderful man her husband was.
“He was a faithful, honest, hard-working man all his life. He left quite a legacy,” she said.
A public memorial service will take place at 2 p.m. Saturday, Jan. 7 at Park Chapel Christian Church in Greenfield.
