Obituary for John Keston

John Keston, age 97, born in the United Kingdom as Francis Douglas Arthur Caston, December 5, 1924 died on February 13, 2022 at Abbott Northwestern Hospital in Minneapolis, Minnesota of complications from COVID-19 despite being fully vaccinated. He was a WWII veteran serving in the Royal Air Force. Afterward he studied voice in Italy and eventually became an accomplished tenor, singing and acting in nightclubs, commercials, films, and musicals from London with the Royal Shakespeare Company to Broadway. After a long and varied career in show business John settled with his family in Bemidji, Minnesota where he taught voice at Bemidji State University from 1974 until he retired in 1989. While teaching and performing with the university he also began competitive long distance running. In retirement he was by no means idle and continued running, setting several world, US, and British records in different age groups. He was a torch bearer for the 1996 Olympics and in 2001 was inducted into the USA Track and Field Masters Hall of Fame. John loved to travel, visit family, tell stories, and would break into song at dinner parties and in restaurants delighting friends, family, guests and staff. John is survived by his wife Melissa Anne Keston, six children, Francesca Caston, Michael Caston, Philip Caston, Pamela La Forgia, John C.S. Keston, Richard Keston, and 23 grand- and great-grandchildren.

Visitation services will be held at 10am with a memorial service at 11am on Friday, February 18, 2022 at Evans-Nordby Funeral Home in Osseo, Minnesota.

For those who can't attend the service in person, a Zoom livestream is available at: https://rb.gy/k3elpq passcode: Keston
Please be sure to sign up for a Zoom account prior to joining the livestream the day of the service.

In lieu of flowers or gifts please donate to Mercy Corps’ COVID-19 pandemic response.