More detail on this person: YORKTOWN - Colonel Keith John Bauer, U.S. Army (ret.), 86, passed
away Saturday, Dec. 15, 2007.
He was a native of Arkansaw, Wis., and was a Peninsula resident for over 30 years.
Col. Bauer retired from the Army in 1971, after 30 years of service. He was a Master Aviator who
served his country during WWII, Korea, and Vietnam. The many awards and decorations he earned
during his career include, The Silver Star, The Bronze Star Medal, The Army Commendation Medal, The
Air Medal with 27 Oak Leaf Clusters, The Legion of Merit with three Oak Leaf Clusters, The
Vietnamese Combat Medal, and last, but not least, the Master Army Aviation Badge. He was the
personal pilot of Pope Pius VI during his tour of South America in 1967. After retirement he was
employed with the Dept. of Energy in Aviation Fuel Allocation until his retirement in 1983. He was a
member of the Ancient Aviators, Veterans of Foreign Wars, and Knights of Columbus #5480. He was a
former member of St. Jerome Catholic Church, and was a current member of St. Joan of Arc Catholic
Church.
Col. Bauer was preceded in death by his parents, Thomas and Ann Bauer; a sister, Kathryn Bauer; and
two grandsons, Jesse Bauer, and Kevin Carpenter.
He is survived by his loving wife of 62 years, Kathleen Bauer; three sons, Gregory Keith Bauer and
his wife, Jody, of Yorktown, Patrick Thomas Bauer of Newport News, and Joseph Lee Bauer and his
wife, Ann, of Greensboro, N.C.; two daughters, Kathryn Ann Carpenter of LaPlata, Md., and Kristine
Marie Bauer of Virginia Beach; a sister, Mary Lou Bechel and her husband, Harry, of Eau Claire,
Wis.; three brothers, William Bauer and his wife, Shirley, of Sioux Falls, S.D., Donald Bauer and
his wife, Joan, of Minneapolis, Minn., and John Bauer and his wife, Betty, also of Sioux Falls,
S.D.; six grandchildren; and four great-grandchildren.
A funeral mass will be held at 10:30 a.m. on Thursday, Dec. 20, at St. Joan of Arc Catholic Church
with Father James Curran officiating. A graveside service, with full military honors, will follow in
Peninsula Memorial Park. The family will receive friends from 6 to 8 p.m. on Wednesday, Dec. 19, in
Amory Funeral Home, Grafton.
In lieu of flowers, memorial donations may be made to the American Red Cross, 6912 George
Washington Highway, Yorktown, VA 23692.
This information was last updated 05/18/2016
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