Evelyn Dove Coleman: Rest, Keith

I sat stunned after receiving a phone call letting me know that our cousin Jacques O'Keith Cobb had passed away the day before.  I think I was in shock. Keith and I had just exchanged text messages about a week or so before. He had just read the Mother Jones Magazine article I was in on April 30th, and he said "Who is that pretty lady?" I texted back "You're so sweet."  Had absolutely no clue of what was coming.

People say that family dynamics are like the weather-- up and down. But that was not the case with Keith.  He always had that smile on his face whenever and wherever I saw him. It was a crinkled combination of his parents' nicknames, Peaches and Baby Ruth. Just imagine a sweet ripe peach or an even sweeter chocolate candy bar. They made Keith.

I had high respect for Keith for the way he took care of his aging mother. One of my favorite pictures is of them swing dancing when she was in her 80s.  His loving sisters Sherry, Sonya, and Shelia were in the video. Keith was extremely proud of his children and doted on the family.

I don't know exactly how you're supposed to feel when a family member transcends. Is it grief bottled into disbelief?  Is it fond memories held onto tight, like the one when Keith saw my flip phone and gasped "What's that?" Or, is it relief that your last words, your last exchange ever, was kind? Rest, Keith. We'll see you when we get there.