For William McKeon, few things were more important than guiding the academic needs of a child. “He was a huge lover of education and just always thought that children should expand their minds and that their instructors should take time and open up doors for them to learn,” said his daughter, Kathleen Blunt. Mr. McKeon, 71, a retired guidance counselor and director of instruction at Gordon Tech High School, died of a stroke Saturday, Jan. 3, in his daughter’s Chicago home. Born and raised in Chicago, after graduating from Loyola Academy, Mr. McKeon entered the Christian Brothers religious order while studying at St. Mary’s College in Minnesota. He later received a master’s degree in education from Loyola University. He was ordained in the early 1950s. While working as an assistant principal at St. George High School in Evanston, he met his future wife, Audrey, at school functions she attended with her son, a student at the school. He fell in love and left the order in 1969. The couple married the following year. In 1971, he joined Gordon Tech as a guidance counselor and later became its guidance director before retiring as director of instruction in 2002. His wife died that same year. Beyond counseling students, Mr. McKeon was a passionate Notre Dame football fan. “You’d hear him for miles away when he would watch a game on television,” said his daughter. He enjoyed lunching with his friends from the religious order and reading novels in his free time. “He touched so many lives; a really kind person, who was always there to help and listen,” said his daughter. Other survivors include another daughter, Maureen Poniatowski; a stepson, Randall Dagon; and seven grandchildren. Visitation will be from 3 to 8 p.m. Wednesday in Barr Funeral Home, 6222 N. Broadway, Chicago. A mass will be said at 10 a.m. Thursday in St. Ignatius Church, 6559 N. Glenwood Ave., Chicago.
