Paul Francis Keber of East Hampton and White Plains, a marketing and sales executive at WCBS Newsradio in Manhattan for many years, died at home in White Plains on Feb. 21. He was 77.
Mr. Keber lived a life defined by love and generosity, facing challenges with characteristic patience, humility, and respect, said his wife, Susan McGraw-Keber, a former East Hampton Town trustee. CBS and WCBS Newsradio were his home for 38 years, she said. As a senior marketing executive and sales manager, he was responsible for the New York Jets, New York Yankees, and Broadway theater accounts, among many others. His success with clients prompted CBS to appoint him as a mentor to new members of the sales staff.
Paul Francis Keber was born on Dec. 30, 1948, in Port Chester, N.Y., to Dr. Vincent M. Keber and the former Villette Burns. He grew up in nearby Rye and later New Canaan, Conn., the younger brother of Villette Harris and Vincent Keber. The family spent summers on a farm in Sheffield, Mass., and later, as Uncle Paul, Mr. Keber regaled his nieces and nephews with tales of being taught to shoot and drive a tractor.
In New Canaan, he attended St. Aloysius Catholic Church and School, where he played on the basketball team and served his parish as an altar boy for several years. He graduated from Fairfield College Preparatory School in Connecticut and Mount St. Mary’s University in Emmitsburg, Md.
Shortly after graduation, Mr. Keber was drafted into the Army and served in Vietnam. In 1971, after infantry training at Fort Dix, in New Jersey, and Fort Ord, in California, he was shipped to Chu Lai, Vietnam. He served in the 3rd Brigade, 1st Cavalry Division, 11th Light Infantry Brigade in I Corps. Quiet about his service, he was honorably discharged with the rank of sergeant and awarded two Bronze Stars, the Air Medal, and the U.S. Army Combat Infantryman Badge, awarded to infantry or Special Forces soldiers who fought in ground combat while assigned to a brigade-level or smaller unit.
After Vietnam, he began his career with The Daily News in New York City. His first assigned account was Crowley Advertising, and a friendship developed with Jerry Crowley, who tutored him and introduced him to radio. After joining WCBS, he met Rod Calarco, a radio manager who became a lasting friend.
He was proud of his long career at CBS, which began when Bill Paley owned the network, and he remembered Paley’s wife, Babe Paley, arriving in white gloves and having a large floral arrangement delivered to the front reception each day.
Ms. McGraw-Keber was the center of his life for more than 25 years. Mr. Keber was stepfather to Walker McGraw Bragman, to whom he was a steadfast ally and mentor, Ms. McGraw-Keber said, and grandfather to Mr. Bragman’s son. An adored uncle to three nephews and two nieces, he enjoyed holidays with them and could be counted on to offer support while they were growing up.
Those who knew him will remember his infectious humor and his kindness, Ms. McGraw-Keber said. During his career and throughout retirement, he was a weekly volunteer at Burke Rehabilitation in White Plains as a Eucharistic minister. For many years he enjoyed teaching confirmation classes at Our Lady of Sorrows Catholic Church in White Plains, where he appealed to the students’ sense of responsibility to family and friends and encouraged them to help others in need.
Outside of his professional and volunteer work, Mr. Keber was a squash player, and with his wife he became an accomplished scuba diver, traveling to the Cayman Islands, Belize, Honduras, and Bonaire.
He will be remembered, Ms. McGraw-Keber said, as a man who appreciated the simple things: time with family and friends, football with a cold beer in a chilled glass. Were he with us today, he would remind us to appreciate the time given and the importance of showing up for loved ones, she said.
In addition to his wife, his stepson, and his grandson, Mr. Keber is survived by a sister-in-law, Lucy Keber; Mr. Bragman’s wife, Michelle James; his nieces and nephews, Vincent (Tripp) Keber III, Peter Keber, Richard Harris, Carolyn Keber, and Morgan Harris and her son, Cameron Pryse Harris, and their spouses, Ashley Keber, Mary Harris, and Patrick Frost.
A Mass celebrating Mr. Keber’s life is scheduled for May 15 at 11 a.m. at Our Lady of Sorrows. His family has suggested memorial contributions to St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital, at stjude.org, or Our Lady of Sorrows, at bit.ly/4m4AAzL.
