Sheila Spear and Spurgeon Milton Keeny

SHEILA SPEAR, daughter of CHRISTY VIRGINIA MCDONALD and JOHN ASHCROFT SPEAR, was born June 1, 1927,^{3819, 456} and died September 10, 2011 in Washington, District of Columbia.³⁸²³ She is buried in Lincoln-Noyes Cemetery, Greensboro, Orleans, Vermont.^{3823, 456}

She married SPURGEON MILTON KEENY on May 3, 1952 in First Church of Christ, Congregational, Farmington, Hartford, Connecticut.²⁰⁴² He was born October 24, 1924,⁴⁵⁶ and died August 10, 2012 in Washington, District of Columbia.¹²¹⁶¹ He is buried in Lincoln-Noyes Cemetery, Greensboro, Orleans, Vermont.⁴⁵⁶

Education
Marriage Announcements and News
Obituaries

Census Records

Children of SHEILA SPEAR and SPURGEON MILTON KEENY:

Son
Son
Daughter

Education

Spurgeon M. Keeny

graduated from Columbia University, New York, New York, New York in 1944¹²¹⁶¹
graduated from Columbia University, New York, New York, New York in 1946 with a Master's degree in Physics¹²¹⁶¹

Sheila Spear

graduated from Mt. Holyoke College, South Hadley, Hampshire, Massachusetts in 1949 in French⁴⁵²³

Marriage Announcements and News

Springfield Union, February 23, 1952²⁰⁴¹

Miss Sheila Spear To Wed Mr. Keeny

Granddaughter of Amherst Couple Engaged

Amherst, Feb. 22—Mr. and Mrs. John A. Spear of Miss Porter's School, Farmington, Conn., announce the engagement of their daughter, Miss Sheila Spear, to Spurgeon Milton Keeny, Jr., son of Mr. and Mrs. Spurgeon Keeny of New York City and Bangkok, Thailand. Mr. Keeny, Sr., is director for Asia of the United Nations International Children's Emergency Fund.

Miss Spear, granddaughter of the late Mr. and Mrs. Edward L. Spear of Amherst, prepared for college at Miss Beard's School, Orange, New Jersey. She was graduated from Mt. Holyoke College in 1949 and received her master of arts degree from Middlebury College following a year of study at the University of Paris.

Mr. Keeny prepared for college at the Horace Mann School for Boys. He was graduated from Columbia College in 1944 and received his master of arts degree from Columbia University where he also studied at the Russian Institute and at the School of International Affairs. Mr. Keeny served as first lieutenant in the U. S. Air Force and is at present employed by the Department of the Air Force.

Following an April wedding the couple will live in Washington, D. C.

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New York Times, May 4, 1952²⁰⁴²

SHEILA SPEAR WED TO S. M. KEENY JR.

First Church in Farmington Is Scene of Their Marriage—Reception Held in Home

Special to THE NEW YORK TIMES.

FARMINGTON, Conn., May 3—The Marriage of Miss Sheila Spear, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. John Ashcroft Spear, to Spurgeon Milton Keeny Jr., son of Mr. and Mrs. Keeny of Bangkok, Thailand, formerly of New York, took place here this afternoon in the First Church of Christ, Congregational. The ceremony was performed by the Rev. Harold King and was followed by a reception in the Spear home.

The bride was escorted by her father, who is a member of the faculty of Miss Porter's School here. She wore a ballerina-length gown of white Chantilly lace, over ivory taffetta, fashioned with a fitted bodice with cap sleeves.

The Misses Jean Chisholm Eels of Cleveland and Katharine Colvin of Washington, D. C., attended the bride. Dr. Robert Jastrow was best man. The ushers were John Ashcroft Spear Jr., a brother of the bride; Arnold Kramish, Karl Wagner and James Ellicott Hewes Jr.

Mrs. Keeny, an alumna of the Beard School, class of '45, received a Bachelor's degree in 1949 from Mount Holyoke College, where she was elected to Phi Beta Kappa. She also attended the University of Paris while working for a Master's degree, which she received from Middlebury College.

The bridegroom was graduated from the Horace Mann School and Columbia College and received a Master's degree in physics from Columbia University. He also attended the School of International Affairs and the Russian Institute at Columbia. He is a member of Phi Beta Kappa.

Mr. Keeny is a civilian employee of Headquarters Staff, United States Air Force, in Washington.

Obituaries

Washington Post, September 15, 2011³⁸²³

SHEILA SPEAR KEENY (Age 84)

Of Washington, DC, died peacefully at home on Saturday September 10, 2011 from recurrence of breast cancer. She is survived by her husband of 59 years, Spurgeon M. Keeny Jr., and her children, Christopher Keeny, Virginia Keeny, Spurgeon (Sam) Keeny III; four grandchildren and her brother, John Spear. She received a BA from Mount Holyoke College (Junior Phi Beta Kappa) and an MA from Middlebury College/The Sorbonne. She initially worked for the CIA and later for the Urban Institute. She devoted many years to volunteer work with the DC League of Women Voters including past president and to the United Nations Association/National Capital Area including DC vice chairman and membership on the Board. In addition to participating in many of her husband's activities as a government official and subsequently as a non-government advocate for nuclear arms control, her many interests included long term participation in an informal group that met regularly to enjoy French language and culture. A memorial service will be held in DC at a location and time to be determined. Interment will be in Greensboro, Vermont where she spent many happy summers with her family.

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Washington Post, August 16, 2012¹²¹⁶¹

Spurgeon M. Keeny Jr. dies; arms control strategist was 87

Spurgeon M. Keeny Jr., an arms control expert who held top positions at the U.S. Arms Control and Disarmament Agency during the Cold War and later ran an influential Washington think tank that advises policymakers on nuclear proliferation, died Aug. 10 at his home in Washington. He was 87.

He had cancer, said his daughter, Virginia Keeny.

Mr. Keeny was a prominent scholar in his field at a time when the U.S.-Soviet arms race was one of the most important national concerns. He was known as a meticulous strategist with a pragmatic worldview: that the nuclear threat was best managed through the incremental drawdown of arms.

A Soviet expert, Mr. Keeny gained much of his early experience as an assistant to the White House science adviser during the Eisenhower, Kennedy and Johnson administrations. He also served on the staff of the National Security Council from 1963 until 1969, when he moved to the Arms Control and Disarmament Agency as assistant director for science and technology. In the mid-1970s, he led an influential study on nuclear power underwritten by the Ford Foundation.

Mr. Keeny held his most prominent position at the agency during the Carter administration. In 1977, he became deputy director, a post that often put him in charge of day-to-day operations while the director was traveling or at work on negotiations. He was reported to have been handpicked by the director, Paul C. Warnke.

Spurgeon M. Keeny Jr., who held the No. 2 position at the U.S. Arms Control and Disarmament Agency during the Carter administration and later ran an influential Washington think tank that seeks to help curb nuclear proliferation, died Aug.10. (Washington Post File)

At the time, the United States and the Soviet Union were engaged in the second round of strategic arms limitation talks, known as SALT II. Mr. Keeny “was involved with every interagency decision with our negotiations with Moscow at this time,” said Michael Krepon, a nuclear expert who worked at the agency during the Carter administration.

After the Soviet Union invaded Afghanistan in 1979, support for the SALT II treaty evaporated. The agreement was significant nonetheless because it would have been the first to limit the number of nuclear warheads — as opposed to missiles — that the superpowers could maintain.

In 1981, after Carter was defeated for reelection, Mr. Keeny joined the National Academy of Sciences. In 1985, he became president of the Arms Control Association, which was formed in 1971. He retired in 2001.

Under Mr. Keeny's leadership, Krepon said, the association was "the go-to place for all those looking for an alternative to a nuclear arms race." Mr. Keeny testified before Congress and was frequently quoted in the media. The association's flagship publication, Arms Control Today, remains an influential resource for policymakers and others.

Spurgeon Milton Keeny Jr. was born Oct. 24, 1924, in New York City. His father became a noted United Nations and Population Council expert on family planning in Asia.

Mr. Keeny received a bachelor’s degree in 1944 and a master’s degree in physics in 1946, both from Columbia University, where he also did graduate work in Soviet studies.

From 1948 until 1955, he did intelligence work with the Air Force, including two years of active duty. He rose to become head of the office that tracked the Soviet nuclear program.

Mr. Keeny’s professional honors included the Rockefeller Public Service Award, given to him by the federal government in 1970. From 1973 to 1977, he worked at the Mitre Corp., a nonprofit technology firm that works in defense and other fields.

His wife of 59 years, Sheila Spear Keeny, died in 2011. Survivors include three children, Christopher Keeny of Edgemont, N.Y., Virginia Keeny of Los Angeles and Spurgeon M. Keeny III of Chevy Chase; and four grandchildren.

Krepon said in an interview that Mr. Keeny enjoyed the artwork of Hieronymus Bosch, the Dutch painter whose 15th- and 16th-century works often feature mystical creatures such as gremlins.

Mr. Keeny spent his career “working on rather large gremlins,” Krepon said, “so there might have been a connection.”

Census Records

Date	Location	Enumerated Names
April 8, 1930²²⁶	East Orange, Essex, New Jersey	Christy Virginia McDonald John Ashcroft Spear Sheila Spear Hannah Christy Bell Betty Anne McDonald
April 10, 1940²⁷⁵⁹	East Orange, Essex, New Jersey	Christy Virginia McDonald John Ashcroft Spear Sheila Spear Son Hannah Christy Bell