Jon & Diana Keister

THE CELEBRATION OF LIFE: June 27th @ 1-3 pm at Klehm Arboretum, 2715 South Main St., Rockford, IL, 61102. Casual attire, food & beverages served, walking paths, splash pad/garden for the kids, & tree dedication in their honor. RSVP to Amanda at aljkeist19@gmail.com. Welcome to Jon & Diana's Celebration of Life memorial page. Diana Shepherd was born on January 23rd 1951 to Delbert and Dorothy Shepherd and grew up as the middle sister to Sandy and Beverly. Her family lived on tenant farms in the Homer Township/Rockdale/Joliet, Illinois, area. She graduated from Joliet East High School in 1969. In high school, she participated on the debate team and was active in student council. She was also on the homecoming court. Between 1969-1973 she attended Illinois State University and majored in Deaf & Hard of Hearing. Jon Keister was born on May 19th, 1950, in Freeport, IL. He grew up in Orangeville and was the third of four children to Fay & Ralph Keister. Small town life contributed to his friendly and talkative personality. He was always known for his quirkiness, humor, and thinking outside of the box. Even when he was young, his stories were long and elaborate. He also lived a country lifestyle and fondly remembered fulfilling his annoying little brother duties by throwing horse apples at his older sister Jan and getting into mischief with his older brother Mark. Karma paid him back by giving him his younger sister Paula who would always tell him, "You're not the boss of me!" Jon went through the Orangeville school system and attended Illinois State University between 1971-1976 and majored in Speech Communications. Jon and Diana met sometime in 1972. The story is that they were both walking home from class. Jon noticed Diana first and thought she was friendly and talkative. They lived a few houses away from each other. Unlike some of the other women Jon dated, Diana was the only one who actually enjoyed the movie MASH. It was a sign they were meant for each other.