Keith was a loving, caring friend with great artistic talents and sense of humor. I have so many fond memories and wish him well on his next journey.

A REALLY good friend for a REALLY long time.

Intelligent, well read and had a knack for looking at things and life from surprisingly different angles. Talented artist, kind of a modern age renaissance man.

Had a stroke years ago that made a lot of things challenging but no whining, no “poor me”, he soldiered on with admirable determination. Ordained a Soto Zen priest so if anybody is going to reincarnate, he’s the one.

A truly unique and fine fellow. I don’t think I’ve ever come across anyone quite like him…..

When John and I visited at Christmas after we were first married I remember how enthused Keith was at playing Dungeons and Dragons. He was always courteous and thoughtful, had a demeanor of kindness. I remember, too, when Keith became a Buddhist priest, inviting us to the ceremony of his priesthood. We went on fun activities like picnicking at Don Williams lake, going to Riverside for the Beranek family reunion, and visiting often in Iowa City, both at their home and at Iowa City Rehabilitation Center where he lived his last years. Keith was always gentle, likable, and warm.

It is hard to know what to say reflecting on over 40 years of knowing Keith as both a friend and a brother in law. I feel very fortunate that my sister and Keith had such a loving relationship. Whenever visiting, the first thing I would notice about Keith was how his eyes tended to light up the room. He had a great sense of humor, a fiercely loving spirit, and the darndest sense of humor-- a kind of mirth that sparkled in the conversation. He seemed to see about him a movement of merriment in many things. When I look at the two large collage wall paintings of Samuri hanging in our living room which Keith gifted us many years ago, I sense his joy of movement, determination, love of the beauty and life which Keith shared with others.

Pat and I knew Keith Courtney for over 60 years, having met in undergraduate school. Ever since, he was one of our dearest friends and even stood up with us at our wedding in 1964. It was at our wedding that our art collection began with a woodcut of his of a reclining, quite heavy-set woman. He gave it to us as a wedding gift on the condition that we displayed it at the reception, which we did gladly. My mother went around telling everyone that she posed for it!

We now own about 20 of Keith's works, along side many other pieces. But Keith's wedding gift got us started.

We have so many memories of our dear friend that, were I to start telling stories, this memorial might turn into a book. We always stopped to see him and Bu whenever we were in or travelling through Iowa. We shared ideas, books we were reading, news of other friends, and always, always took time to look at his most recent work, usually buying a piece or two, though typical of his generosity, he often refused to set a price and just gave them to us. Keith used to joke that we had the greatest collection of his work east of the Mississippi.

When we visited Keith last month in the rehab facility where he lived his last years, he was very frail and clearly nearing the end, so news of his death did not come as a surprise, although it was still terrible, gut-wrenching news. We already miss him, even as his spirit has only just drifted off this mortal coil.

The loss of Keith (RK or Courtney) is so sad, and yet of course inevitable. Were I to recount my own life, Keith would play a prominent role. I think I first met him at the UNI Department of Art in the spring of 1964. I was stilll in high school, but was that day competing for a four-year art scholarship, which I won and which enabled me to earn a college degree. He stopped by my exhibit to praise the work I was showing—and was Walt Dubbeld beside him? I knew Walt because I had been a Des Moines Register paperboy, and Walt was the night clerk at a hotel in my hometown, one of my subscribers. Every early morning, when I delivered the newspapers to that hotel lobby, I would find Walt asleep and snoring on the couch in the lobby. I always enjoyed Keith's humor and, equally, his unexpected observations, ideas with which he often toyed in experimental art. I have somewhere the drawings we made (our mutual portraits) as we sat in facing chairs. I also have the memory of the prominent part be played in the campus' reception for the poet Allen Ginsberg in the spring of 1968, when he hosted a party for Ginsberg at the infamous multi-room abode at 4th and Main in Cedar Falls. Ginsberg signed Keith's copy of that famous poster in which AG is wearing his Uncle Sam top hat. Soon after I moved back to Iowa in 1990, Keith moved to Iowa City, and our friendship was only now and then refreshed when (only rarely) I would drive down to talk to him briefly in his studio there. He was delightuf. What a loss. He will be missed by so many of us—until we too are scheduled to depart.

I knew Keith from his days at the Hardin Library and always enjoyed his company. His friendly manner and great sense of humor endeared him to many. He will be missed by many. RIP.

I haven't seen Keith in many years, but he saved me when I was a 17-year-old lost teenager in Cedar Falls. My father had died several years earlier, and my mother was severely mentally ill. I was just beginning to become a "hippie" back then, and was searching for a community that could understand and embrace me. Keith became the leader of that community for me. His apartment at 401 Main St. was the center of my world for a time, and is where I met many of the good people who would become the community I sought. And I wasn't alone. Keith befriended many seekers, and was kind and welcoming to all. He was such a kind and dear spirit on this earth, and I feel eternal gratitude for his acceptance of me and so many others.

Rest in peace, dear brother!

Sincerely, Candida ("Candy" back then) Maurer

I didn’t know RK, but I purchased two of his art works many years ago. The pictures have been hanging in my music room for over 20 years. I still stare at them regularly and marvel at what my continued visual exploration of these works reveal. I hope many others are enjoying his work. He left a legacy for me that I will enjoy forever.