Dr. Rachel Boone Keith (1924-2007)
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Pioneer's life was simple, but remarkable
January 9, 2007
BY DESIREE COOPER
FREE PRESS COLUMNIST
One usually thinks of missionaries as those who exercise faith abroad, but that wasn't so for the soft-spoken, demure internist Rachel Hannah Celestine Boone Keith. The daughter of American medical missionaries in Africa, she lived the legacy of her parents, serving God and humankind right here at home, through faith and medicine.
On Thursday, Keith -- the wife of the august U.S. 6th Circuit Court of Appeals Judge Damon Keith -- passed away at the age of 82. The diminutive woman often seen accompanying her husband to public functions was a tireless powerhouse in her own right, breaking gender and racial barriers in medicine, and giving her time to more than 40 boards and charitable organizations.
Today, she will be laid to rest, but her quiet life of faith did not go unnoticed. Hundreds of mourners are expected, among them Gov. Jennifer Granholm, Detroit Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick, members of Michigan's congressional delegation and countless doctors and judges.
"She didn't carry her religion on her shoulders," Damon Keith said of his wife. "She acted everyday as a woman of faith."
Rachel Keith was born to the Rev. Clinton Caldwell Boone and Rachel Tharps Boone in 1924 in Monrovia, Liberia, where the Baptist missionaries founded a church, ran a school and provided medical care. The couple left Liberia for Virginia three years after she was born, but throughout her life, Keith never forgot her African missionary roots.
Last Christmas, she gave her daughters -- Gilda Keith, 46; Debbie Keith, 48, and Cecile Keith Brown, 50 -- copies of two books her father had written about his experiences in the Congo and Liberia. Republishing the books had become Keith's passion after retiring two years ago.
"She even said once that, later in life, she'd like to return to Liberia to be a missionary," said her nephew Terrance Keith. "She may not have been able to go back, but she dedicated her life to being a missionary right here. Her demonstration of Christianity was using her God-given talents tirelessly to help others."
Indeed, Keith had many talents. She was a promising classical pianist and vocalist. She graduated from high school at 13 as the valedictorian. But that same year, her mother died, an event that revealed to her how to best use her talents.
"Watching her mother die of tuberculosis, that's when she decided to become a doctor," Cecile said.
Her mother's death not only set Keith on the course to becoming a doctor, it delivered her into the arms of her aunt, Bessie Tharps, who raised her in Rhode Island. Born in 1886, Tharps was also a devout woman and a brilliant mathematician who graduated from the Boston University School of Medicine in 1916, a pioneering achievement for an African-American woman.
The two became so close that Tharps eventually traveled to Detroit to help Keith each time she gave birth. In 1976, Tharps, then 90, came to Detroit to live with Keith until her death in 1979.
But Keith's aunt was much more than a friend and relative, she was a mentor. Thirty-three years after Tharps graduated from the Boston University School of Medicine, Keith followed in her footsteps. According to the Boston Globe, she attained the highest score ever on a medical school test.
A lifetime of giving
She moved to Detroit in 1951 to become only the second black, female doctor to do her residency at Detroit Receiving Hospital, then called Detroit General. Soon afterward, she was introduced to a young lawyer, Damon Keith, by a mutual friend who'd asked him whether he'd be intimidated by such an established woman. In the presence of her peaceful personality, he was undaunted.
"Her life was a by-product of how she was raised," Damon Keith said of his wife of 53 years. "She was very religious. She was very strong, but not pushy or demanding. She saw her life as one of service."
Her daughters recounted how their mother was a dedicated physician, treating anyone who needed care, regardless of ability to pay.
"She turned no one away," Gilda said. "Into her 70s, she was still coming home at 10 p.m. and working six days a week."
Her Christian mission extended to serving on the boards of many local charitable and civic causes, including more than 20 medical organizations and 18 nonprofit groups that supported everything from education to the arts. In addition to involvement with the philanthropic Links Inc., a group committed to enhancing the quality of life in communities, she was also a member of the African American Association of Liberia and the African Development Fund.
She was not only a beacon for the community, but also for her family, which she considered her first priority.
"We still had dinner together every Sunday," Debbie said. "My mother would take notes at church that morning, then talk to us about the sermon at dinner."
Before Christmas dinner, there was always a scripture reading. She read daily devotionals.
"Her pet peeve was pretentiousness," Gilda said. "They lived in the same house in Detroit for 43 years. Despite her accolades, she was humble."
A life's mission ends
In 1973, Keith accompanied her husband to the Abidjan World Conference on World Peace Through Law, in the Ivory Coast.
"While there, we went to Liberia -- the first time she'd been back," her husband said. "We went to the church her father had built, and there was an old woman there who still remembered when my wife was born."
The experience was moving for Rachel Keith, perhaps reigniting her interest in preserving the legacy of her missionary parents. It's poetic that her last project, republishing her father's books, was completed barely a month before she died.
"Just two weeks before she died, she said to me, 'Remember, you have been taught to live a simple life,' " Gilda said.
Simple, yes. But remarkable nevertheless.