Oh my Keifer. I miss you already and I know I will find myself saying that often. Such a great friend. Sooooo non-judgmental of every human you met. You taught me to chill even when I did not think I could. You left me with your beautiful paintings I will forever cherish. Your talent was undeniable and I love everyone you made just for me. I love you Keith Swecker, you touched my life and I will cherish the short time we had together and regret not spending more in the last year   I found you walking in the rain when you moved to marysville to work for your best friend Bruce Smith and little did I know how much I would love and enjoy you both 

Until we dance again my Keifer ❤️😭

Words can't even begin to express the depth, length and love of our friendship nor how much I already miss and will always miss you. We met in 1966 when I moved next door to you on Lincoln Street, at age 3, in Monongahela, PA. Our mothers introduced us to each other on the sidewalk in front of our homes that day and, within 30 seconds, we got into a fist fight, while they stood there and watched us! At that moment, little did we know that a lifelong brotherhood would be formed despite our ominous beginning.

We did so much together! You were so creative, imaginative, energetic, funny (you used to make me howl with uncontrollable laughter), kind and giving. This website doesn't have enough space for me to write the thousands of stories we shared. We had so many great ones that it is impossible for me to pick my favorite one, however, there are some resounding themes about you that resonate with me.

* You were wonderful at "living in the moment". You weren't distracted by whatever else was going on in life. You had the amazing ability to lock into whatever you or we were doing and devote your full attention to it, with enthusiasm. Your active, alert and non-stressed frame-of-mind approach to things [whether you had us, as kids, string two large paper cups together to create a "telephone" or when you recruited me (against my wishes) to help you build a small "Planet of the Apes" clubhouse in your back yard, that ended up being two-stories high and looked like a large addition to your house] generated hours and hours of sheer joy and amusement. Conversely, you were also good at scaring the crap out of me with your tricks and ambushes! Let's not even talk about your elaborate and creative Halloween scenes [they rivaled a Hollywood movie set] that would make me leap off of your porch EVERY YEAR because you found a new and inventive way to scare me! Amazingly, you kept the same fun-loving spirit for your entire life, and I'll be forever grateful for you teaching and continually reminding me, through your actions, that "play" isn't just for kids - it's for all ages.

* You ALWAYS had something you were excitedly looking forward to. When we about 8 years old, you somehow figured out when the Elvis Pressley's movies were going to be on TV that summer [we didn't have on-demand TV back then] and announced to me that we were going to make homemade pizzas and watch his movies. I said, "I'll eat the pizzas but I'm not watching any of Elvis Pressley's movies!" Well...I ended up watching every one of those movies with you and we had a blast! Another time, when we were about 16 years old, you dreamt up this idea that we were going to catch the bus to Century III Mall, go to the Pepperidge Farm store and buy a bunch of cheeses and breadsticks so that we could come back home and make a cheese fondue. Well, we did it and LOVED it so much, that we did it again... and again... and again... to the point where we started to gag when we saw, smelled or even mentioned the words "melted cheese"! Even as we've worked together over the past 8 years, you would frequently tell me about a new gadget you had ordered or about a concert that was coming to Detroit soon. In every case, your face and voice were full of anticipation and glee. You'd make me excited about it and it wasn't even for me :-) My dear friend, you were magical about getting other to rally around a "better tomorrow" because you gave us all something to hope for in the future.

* You were an OUTSTANDING artist! The things you would create impressed so many people for so many years. And you were generous with your talents as you often created unsolicited paintings and drawings for others and then gave them away for free. You were so gifted and amazing with a pencil or paintbrush. While I was in awe of what you could tangibly create, I was also inspired by how much of a complete artist you were. What I mean by this is that art, in my opinion, is really about creating beauty. In this regard, you, definitely created beauty with your pencil, paint brushes and other materials - yet you also created beauty with your words and deeds through your kind, gentle and giving nature. In this regard, ALL of us can be great artists - just like you. As such, I promise you that I will strive to live every day of my life doing what you did; namely, taking the time to patiently spread love, joy, and kindness in an all-too-busy world that often forgets how short and fragile life really is.

Thank you for being you. You were beautiful.

I love you, Keith. I miss you, Keith.

Your brother,

Bruce

Sweck, Your memorial being held on my birthday makes me know even more the connection we had.  I miss you. I miss you. I miss you.  You were a sweet soul.  I still don't believe this.  To think that I'll never get a message or post about pineapples, Hawaii, Dole whips, Laguna, THE WIZARD OF OZ,.... and so much more from you again.

You were such a loving and kind person with phenomenal artistic talent. Coming home to see what masterpieces you created on my back patio or on a sketch pad always amazed me. Even your hand drawn card welcoming me to Cali when I 1st moved here was so cool!

From The Valley, to Fresno, Laguna, and Hawaii we got to hang out in some cool places my friend. Just 2 simple kids from a small town in Western Pennsylvania.

I thought you'd make it back out here at some point to hang out again. I guess we never know what life has in store for us.

I know you'll be creating some beautiful masterpieces in heaven and every time I see a rainbow I know it'll be from the stroke of your paintbrush. I'm sorry we didn't get to see Dorothy click her red shoes together one last time.

I miss you already Sweck. . Rest easy my friend. Love you. ❤️

omg keith it’s so hard to believe i just spoke to you , will will be forever missed the first time i met you it was xmas time 

i was hanging lights  and i couldn’t reach u came walking by u said i was short lol

we hit it off we hung lights had dinner cocktails tom came home we all sat up talking as fast as wel could decorating the tree 

you painted johnny for us and then another painting for us 

we loved wizard of all   you just shared your fish with me  and when u first brought holly to our other place xmas eve she was in your pocket. we all fell in love with her  mom and dad loved i too both my girls  frankie and johnny then jake  so many flat cakes lol yeager u and tom lol god i will miss you my friend till we meet again 

We are so sorry to hear of Keith's passing.  He was a great guy and remember him from highschool being a great artist, and we grew up only blocks from each other.  Ana and I send our deepest condolences.....