Help needed-finding family

[Diver1111]

Hi All,
Local historian Warren Huse contacted me tonight via the email detailed in full below; Knowing I'm a diver he forwarded the email to me which frankly I didn't know what to do with after reading it other than post it-where else-Winni.com; Diving in the 60s' was before my time-wish I could have helped but not the case; "Ann" is Ann at the Lake Winni Historical Society.
Please respond to Warren directly at : whuse@citizen.com
Thanks.
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Ann, do you have anything on Thomas E. Keene or his sons?

Hans, a woman in France is seeking two cousins. See the following.

Good Morning,

My name is Cécile Breda, I'm 35 years old, I'm French and I live in Paris.
My mother Martine Lyaudet is the cousin of Lucette Ferrari (born in 1924 in France)

Why do I tell you this story ?
Because Lucette married Thomas E. Keene (born in 1920, 1921 I'm not sure), an American man that she met in France when he was a soldier in the US Army during the Second World War.
She went to the USA in Laconia to live with him. They have had two sons: Robert Keene (born in 1956) and Lucien Keene (born in 1962).
My mother hasn't heard about her since the death of Lucette in 1967 in a car crash in New-Hampshire.

I know that Tom and Lucette had cottages on Weirs Boulevard, US Route 3 in Laconia, they were called Stoneholm cottages, it was in the 60ies.
I can't find anything about these cottages.

I'm desperately seeking for my American cousins !

Could you help me ?

Thank you so much

Best regards.
Cécile Breda


Hans, Thomas E. Keene operated Lakes Region Divers Supply Headquarters and Skin Diving Schools of NH (and Stoneholm Cottages ), all on Weirs Boulevard through at least 1976. (As of that date, his wife was Carolyn Jean.) Since you are a diver, perhaps you remember Mr. Keene or his sons, Robert and Lucien, or know somebody who might. Any info would be appreciated.

Warren

[upthesaukee]

I took up scuba diving in the late 50's and early 60's. We had a trailer in Two Pines Trailer park in Glendale, across from what is now the Lyon' Den. We did a lot of diving in and around the docks, on the Lady, Steamboat, and the Witches.

We always filled up the tanks at Tom Keene's place on the Blvd. He took us out in the area behind his shop on worked with us on diver safety and technique. Essentially, he gave us free lessons!

Being in my early to mid teens at the time, it was mostly business at the shop.

When I went in the Air Force in 1967, I came back from basic training and tech school, and my mom had sold my equipment for $100.:(

That ended my diving experiences.

The next time I remember going down the Weirs Blvd was in the 70's, and I remember noticeing the dive shop was gone.

Wish I could help. Tom was a great guy, at least to me and my diving buddy who was also a teenager.

[trfour]

Diver1111,

I would recommend; http://www.ancestry.com/?o_iid=10486&o_lid=10486&offerid=0%3a7858%3a0

It's a safe and secure website.

Good luck

[Redwing]

Just to satisfy my curiosity, I googled (yahoo people search) and found the following matches:

Robert A. Keene in Berlin, NH
Robert A. Keene in Portsmouth, NH
Robert C. Keene in Holderness, NH

Both of the Robert A. Keene(s) have telephone numbers listed; Robert C. Keene has an unpublished telephone number

There is a Thomas J. Keene in Windham, NH

I found a Lucien Keene associated with Australia. Perhaps Thomas A. Keene had more children with his second wife, and if the above individuals are remotely related, perhaps they can provide more familial information.

Good luck in your quest!

[SteveA]

Folks use this site to look for classmates for reunions. (I know because someome found me this way)

Here is the "free" search. The young lady would need to pay for any other information.

http://www.peoplefinders.com/summary.asp?fn=Robert&mn=&ln=keene&city=&state=NH&age=&Month=&Day=&Year=&vw=people&input=&x=30&y=7

Hope it can help her find her family members. Several of the results show the age to be 52. That's about right for the Robert the lady is looking for.

[coltgov101]

Sorry I can't help you with your location of family but I couldn't resist sharing my fond memories of Tom Keene. I was 15 years old when I took the YMCA scuba diving course he offered at his shop. That triggered a life long love of diving that I still have today. (40 years later.) We used to go out on the Yankee Diver? and dive all around the lake. I can't describe the wonderful times I had during those summers and how magical it felt exploring the bottom of Winnipesaukee. All thanks to Tom Keene. I still have a picture of him and Lloyd Bridges from some kind of Promotional Work taken one summer long ago.Thanks for letting me remember those wonderful days.

[skprbob]

Tom was really a gruff guy with a heart of gold. He put together the first SCUBA course at Camp Idlewild in the early 60s - "wildcat" certification in those days. I took that course as a camper in 1964 and was immediately hooked! Tom and his staff took me under their wings and got me ready for a NAUI instructor course in 1969 at the tender age of 18. The Idlewild SCUBA program was wildly popular. The craziest aspect of it was the process of filling empty tanks - we loaded empties onto the Mail Boat and Tom picked them up at Weirs, filled them, and sent them back next day. We eventually got our own compressor out at camp, also thanks to Tom. One summer, his shop was closed and he disappeared. I never did find out where he went - very much a loss and much missed.

[angela4design]

My favorite people finding search engine is www.zabasearch.com

Thomas E Keene born Aug 1924 is listed in Scarborough Maine. Search and you'll find his addess and telephone number.

Good luck!

[dpg]

Has anyone contacted Warren or at least directed him to this site?

[Diver1111]

I took care of it-thanks for the diligent follow-up though.
D1111

[Waterbaby]

I hope we hear the ending of this story.............. I'm also wondering if our wonderful "Master Trekkie" (yes, that would be Don the Webmaster, lol!) could transfer this to General Discussion? My thought is that the thread may have a wider audience than those just looking at Diving or History threads, and more information/knowledge might be forthcoming.

Thanks for sharing this, Diver1111 -- I am very intrigued!

WB

[mikemo]

You will be happy to know that Cecile has been "reunited" with her American cousins. With the help of Warren's great detective work, I was able to speak with Cecile's cousin, Thomas Keene's son. He was very happy to learn that she was seeking him out and was actually recently thinking of trying to locate his French cousins. Ce'cile called me from Paris and was ecstatic after hearing from him.
I had received the original email from Cecile looking for assistance.

[Waterbaby]

You will be happy to know that Cecile has been "reunited" with her American cousins. With the help of Warren's great detective work, I was able to speak with Cecile's cousin, Thomas Keene's son. He was very happy to learn that she was seeking him out and was actually recently thinking of trying to locate his French cousins. Ce'cile called me from Paris and was ecstatic after hearing from him.
I had received the original email from Cecile looking for assistance.

Wonderful news, thanks for the update. Now, can you tell us where the son lives? Just generally? Lakes Region? Are YOU Mr. Keene's son? And the mystery continues! lol and thanks!

[Mark]

You will be happy to know that Cecile has been "reunited" with her American cousins. {snip} Ce'cile called me from Paris and was ecstatic after hearing from him.
I had received the original email from Cecile looking for assistance.

We know how to pronounce and translate the native American word Winnipesaukee in to English. Winnipesaukee, The Smile of the Great Spirit.

What is the French word for Winnipesaukee? :confused:

[mikemo]

Wonderful news, thanks for the update. Now, can you tell us where the son lives? Just generally? Lakes Region? Are YOU Mr. Keene's son? And the mystery continues! lol and thanks!

Waterbaby,
No I am not Mr. Keenes son. I am the Police Chief for the Laconia Police Department. After exausting all avenues, Ms. Breda apparently reached out to me as she explained she had "no where else to go." ( I had never met her). I contacted Warren Huse from the Citizen for some assistance as he is an historian with a wealth of knowledge. Mr. Keene's son was was located and I phoned him with her request. ( He lives in the Plymouth, NH area). Both were "reunited" and according to them, it was a wonderful "Christmas present." It certainly made my week......
Regards,
Mike Moyer

[Resident 2B]

Waterbaby,
No I am not Mr. Keenes son. I am the Police Chief for the Laconia Police Department. After exausting all avenues, Ms. Breda apparently reached out to me as she explained she had "no where else to go." ( I had never met her). I contacted Warren Huse from the Citizen for some assistance as he is an historian with a wealth of knowledge. Mr. Keene's son was was located and I phoned him with her request. ( He lives in the Plymouth, NH area). Both were "reunited" and according to them, it was a wonderful "Christmas present." It certainly made my week......
Regards,
Mike Moyer


Great job Mike and welcome to the forum!

Many times, the police, in general, get the short end of the stick when it comes to PR. You have demonstrated by example why we are so lucky to have the LPD around. Great leadership, in my opinion!

R2B

[SIKSUKR]

Did I mention how much I love the police?Please remember SS if I screw up in the future!

[chipj29]

Great thread, with a great result! Nice job for the Laconia police to do what they could to help. Kudos to Mr. Moyer!

PS, SS, you are shameless! :emb:

[LanceKeene]

Hi Folks. I’m Lance Keene son of Lucette & Tom Keene. First of all let me thank you for helping me reconnect with my family in France. After the death of my mother in 1967 I had no further contact with the family in France. It was a wonderful Christmas present to talk/video with Cécile and the rest of the family on Christmas day. Cécile translated the conversation into French for the family and I translated it into Spanish as my wife doesn’t speak English. We had a blast and talked for 3 hours! Cécile had difficulty finding me because she was looking for Lucien Keene. When I was an infant my mother took me to France but only used my middle name Lucien (the name of my grandfather). Therefore the whole family thought my first name was Lucien.

So what happened to Tom Keene and the Dive Shop? Several years after my mother died Tom married Jean Walter of Lakeport and together they ran the dive shop and the cottages. In 1981 they retired and moved to Florida (as required by NH law, ha ha). On April 9, 1991 Tom passed away after a long battle with lung cancer. It was a very sad time.

As for me, I joined the Army as a computer programmer in 1980. I lived in Germany and learned to speak German quite well. In 1984 I left the Army and start my degree in computer science at Florida Institute of Technology. In 1988 I graduated and moved to Texas where I started a software company. In the late 1990s I got the itch to move back to New Hampshire. I purchased the top of a mountain in Thornton, NH in 1997 and moved back to NH in 1999. Although I own a software consulting firm (see: www.KeeneSystems.com (www.KeeneSystems.com)) I enjoy working with my hands and stone masonry is my hobby. I’m building a medieval stone castle on the site. (see: http://www.sql-server-vb-asp.net/montana_8_4_07 ) I know, I’m a nut just like my father. He always taught me “where there’s a will, there’s a way”. In August 2008 I finally moved to Campton, NH so I could be close to my castle project. It’s great to be back up here in the mountains!

Since all of you were kind enough to help me out I put together a web page to share with you. It contains many rare pictures of Tom and Lucette and the Dive Shop in the Wiers. I hope you enjoy it: http://www.sql-server-vb-asp.net/keenefamily/Diving/index.htm (http://www.sql-server-vb-asp.net/keenefamily/Diving/index.htm)

Best,

Lance Keene

[SteveA]

What a great story. Thanks for starting my day with a smile. Best wishes for you and your new baby girl. :cheers:

[AB_Monterey]

This is such a great story.

Thanks for the tribute page!

[upthesaukee]

...and congratulations to your generation of "Keene's".

May you always have many great memories of your mother and father, and thank goodness you have so many things to share with your daughter and other family members, present and future.

Thanks for the update.