Dr. Dorothy Jane Keeton McKowen passed away Friday morning at University Place in West Lafayette, Indiana.  She had been ill for a month, but death was unexpected.  She was born on October 5, 1948, to Dorothy Olene Spoonhour and John Richard Keeton in Bonne Terre, Missouri, but she grew up in Oxnard, California.  She married Paul Edwin McKowen on December 19, 1970, at First Christian Church in Long Beach, California.  The officiating minister was her father-in-law, Pastor James McKowen.

A life-long learner, a passionate reader, and an engaging teacher, Dorothy graduated from Pacific Christian College (now Hope International University) with a degree in music.  She earned a master’s degree in library science from the University of Southern California, a master’s degree in English from Purdue University, and a doctorate in early American literature from Purdue.

After moving to Lafayette in 1978. she worked as a serials librarian at Purdue for nine years, a children’s librarian at Kokomo, a librarian for INCOLSA, and a limited term lecturer at both Ivy Tech and Purdue University.

A Biblical scholar, she was a member of Brady Lane Church of Christ where she taught an adult Sunday school class and played the organ.  She was also a passionate Dodger baseball fan, a Purdue football fan, and a history buff.

In addition to her husband Paul, Dorothy is survived by two sons, Richard McKowen (Katie) of Alvin, Texas, and Mark McKowen (Lesley) of Thorntown.  She is also survived by two grandchildren, Kenneth and Elizabeth McKowen, her brother David Keeton (Barbara) of Syracuse, Kansas, her aunt, Phyllis Keeton Comstock of West Lafayette, and her brother-in-law, David McKowen (Diana) of Plainfield.  Also surviving are five nieces and numerous great nieces and nephews.

Visitation will be Wednesday, September 13, at Brady Lane Church, 2701 Brady Lane in Lafayette, from I:00 – 3:00 PM with the funeral service to follow at 3:00 with Pastor Jeff Keller.  Interment will be at Tippecanoe Memory Gardens.  Soller-Baker is providing services.  Memorial contributions may be made to the Brady Lane Church Vision Fund.