Joseph A. Keeney, 91, a longtime Albion, WA resident died Nov. 11, 2016 at Henderson House Assisted Living in Colfax, WA. Joe was born Oct. 31, 1925 in Moscow, ID as at that time the family was living in Viola. He attended a country school house in rural Idaho with a dozen kids in grades 1-6, walking to school every day. Joe moved on to attend the Albion grade school and graduated from Pullman High School in 1944. He married Jewell Schultz in 1944 and together they raised three children. Joe farmed until 1953 when they moved to Albion where he bought the existing gas station from Mr. Sweat. Joe and Jewell later divorced. In 1964 Joe built a new building and operated his business for years until his retirement. It was in 1953 that Joe and several others were asked to start a fire department following a destructive fire in Albion. Joe was elected Fire Chief a job he held for over 40 years. As chief he built the first fire wagon to haul equipment and expanded the department to 6 fire vehicles before he retired. Following retirement Joe continued to support the department and contributed to the design and construction of the new building along with a couple of old friends by going every day to "supervise" the construction. Joe married Martha Johnson in 1964 living in Pullman for a short time before moving back to Albion. Martha added two children to the mix of kids. They made Albion their home until moving to Whitman Senior Living in the early 2000's. In 2014 they moved to the Henderson House in Colfax. As empty nesters in Albion, Joe & Martha adopted neighbor Barb Smith and her son Jason, daughter Jamie becoming grandparents and babysitters for both during their school years. "Albion Joe" was a member of the Grange, Moose, Albion City Council and Albion Heritage Society through the years. He helped organize the first little league baseball team in Albion and was a great umpire for all Albion games and many county games. Joe's business always sponsored a uniform for the team and he was always their biggest fan. Joe loved kids, animals, sports, the outdoors and having fun. Who doesn't remember that Joe and Martha always gave out full size candy bars on Halloween, a for sure stop for every kid. On Oct. 31, 2015 (yes Halloween is his birthday) the City of Albion and the Whitman County Fire Department had a surprise celebration to dedicate and name the new Building the "Joe Keeney Fire Station" with a big party and large outdoor sign. Joe was indeed proud to be honored in this way. He is survived by his wife Martha; three children Merle (Charlotte) Keeney; Susan (Will) Wintermute; Lorri (Russell) Pace; the children's mother Jewell; his stepchildren Ruthie (Rich) Westerbeck; Walt (Joyce) Johnson; two sisters Maxine (Ken) Meyers; Beverly (Owen) Boyd and all of his grandchildren and great grandchildren. A celebration of Joe's life will be scheduled for early 2017. The family hopes to see all those who knew and loved Joe at the celebration. Kimball Funeral Home of Pullman, WA is caring for the family. Online condolences may be sent to www.kimballfh.com