Donald Keith Biltz

Donald “Keith” Biltz passed away on the morning of May 6th 2022 after a brief illness. He was 67. Keith leaves behind his mother, Carolyn Biltz; brothers Jeff Biltz and Matt Biltz; and sisters Michele Biltz (Charles Parr) and Kim (Brandon) Moore. Keith was preceded in death by his brother Christopher; sister Theresa; and father Clarence Biltz, Jr. Keith was smart, funny and irreverent (He would probably argue with me because I didn’t use an oxford comma there). Keith was always his favorite person in the room (a fact that those who loved him can laughingly attest to). He was the eldest grandchild of Theodore and Florence Bellock, a title Keith often repeated to his many cousins at family gatherings. Keith was known for giving his younger cousins nicknames and incorporating them into childhood rhymes. We won’t repeat those rhymes here (to the collective relief of all his cousins)! Keith was an altar boy at Saint Bernard’s church from elementary school through junior high. He could often be seen riding his bike across town during the summers to serve Mass. Keith ran track and cross county at Wabash High School (class of ‘73). He held the school record in the half mile at that time - leaving big shoes to fill for his younger brothers, who ran hard to fill them nonetheless. Keith was the greatest athlete he ever met : ) His cousins and brothers all loved trying to prove him wrong about this during many games of around-the-world basketball. Keith made friends easily. From his days as a student at Ball State, where he was often seen playing darts and shooting pool at The Chug, to his days living in Indianapolis attending concerts; Keith knew a lot of people. He enjoyed everything from sophisticated arguments to unsophisticated humor. (One could always get Keith to laugh at a cousin Eddy line from the movie Christmas Vacation). It was not unusual for friends to see Keith wildly gesticulating and earnestly yelling at the television. I’m certain Keith felt he deserved at least some of the credit when his Cubs finally won the World Series in 2016… And his friends will all miss Keith’s sense of humor as reflected in the often-repeated, self-referential observation: “What a guy…” Keith was a walking contradiction. He was an Eagle Scout yet also an anti-war child of the 60’s who turned down an appointment to West Point. Keith lived fast on his own terms. He always said he preferred dying young to growing old gracefully. I think he felt this way because if Keith couldn’t be the largest voice in the room, he didn’t want to attend the party. For all his complexity, we are glad Keith is at peace. But he leaves his family with a hole in our hearts the size of his personality. When the loudest voice in the room departs, the silence is deafening. “It's better to burn out than to fade away.”  ― Neil Young There will be a celebration of Keith’s life to be scheduled in Wabash later this summer…