The Keel Reunion
Keel Reunion 2027
July 16–19 · Las Vegas
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The Keel Reunion
Descends Upon Las Vegas
July 16–19, 2027
"As we said goodbye to the family reunion of 2025, it was wonderful to come together for good food, laughter, love, and to see family we haven't seen in a while. It was a blast! Now we're looking forward to the family reunion of 2027!!"
"Elders 75+ attend free. Honestly, they've earned it just by dealing with the rest of us for decades."
Until the Keel Reunion Begins!
The 'Please Don't Make Us Track You Down' Registration Page
We love you. We just need a headcount for the buffet.
Only 0 days until the reunion! Secure your spot now.
Passing the Baton
For generations, the Keel women have carried this family together. Now, a new generation steps forward.
For over 40 years, the Keel Family Reunion was lovingly held together by Grandma Keel, Uncle Vernon, Aunt Margaret, Cousin Sheryl, Aunt Jennifer, Uncle Joe, and the matriarchs and elders who made sure we showed up, behaved (mostly), and left with full hearts and fuller plates. These elders planned menus on landline phones, hand-wrote directions to venues, and somehow remembered everyone's birthday without Facebook. They passed down recipes, forgiveness, and the unshakable belief that family shows up for each other.
Now, in 2027, the baton passes to Rinnie, Treasha, April, Mckenzie, Stacey, Donna, Cindy, Marcia, Renee, and a new generation stepping forward to carry this tradition. Same love. Same commitment. Just with group chats instead of landlines.
And to the elders who built this: you are not "retiring." You are being promoted to Royal Advisors. We still need your recipes, your wisdom, and your ability to give "the look" when someone is acting up.
Those Who Came Before Us
Honoring our Keel elders who set the bar for every reunion.
Grandma Keel🕊
In loving memory
Uncle Vernon🕊
In loving memory
Aunt Margaret
Cousin Sheryl
Aunt Jennifer
Uncle Joe
Listed as Uncle Joe before Aunt Jo corrects us herself.
Aunt Sherma
✦ Honorable Mention ✦
Cousin Miles
Hosted an unforgettable BBQ that one year. Too young to be an elder, but the grill skills were legendary.
"We want to take this time to express our sincere thanks to our previous reunion planners, our Keel elders and their families who have set the bar of excellence for our family reunions."
Passing the Baton
Meet the 2027 Reunion Committee.
Click to see a younger side
Rinnie
Hostess
Click to see a younger side
Treasha
Co-Hostess
Click to see a younger side
April
Financial Officer
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Mckenzie
Secretary
Click to see a younger side
Stacey
Researcher
Click to see a younger side
Renee "Lucky"
Researcher
Click to see a younger side
Donna
Graphic Designer
Click to see a younger side
Cindy
Committee Chair Lead
Click to see a younger side
Marcia
Web Designer
"Thank you, Rinnie and Treasha, for taking on the role as hostesses, and to the rest of the core team for being willing to do this in order to make this an awesome family reunion. This is a great team!"
"The new committee uses Google Docs. The matriarchs used memory and faith. Both methods are terrifying."
Join the Committee
We need your energy. And probably your spreadsheet skills.
The Keel Family Tree
From Generation to Generation
Generation I — The Founders
Dear Dear
Great Grandma
William Maxwell
Great Grandpa — "Daddy"
✦ The parents of Mabel Sally Maxwell Keel (1901–1994) ✦
Generation II
Mabel Sally Maxwell Keel (1901–1994)
Grandma Keel
Born: 1901
Also known as: Mabel Sallie Maxwell, Sarah M Maxwell
Married Sherman Stennis Smith Keel: August 18, 1921 — Denver, Colorado
Passed: 1994 (lived to 93 years old!)
Sherman Stennis Smith Keel (1895–1967)
Grandpa Keel
Born: 1895
Married Mabel Sally Maxwell Keel (1901–1994): August 18, 1921 — Denver, Colorado
Served in World War I and World War II
Passed: 1967
✦ She lived through nearly the entire 20th century — from horse-drawn carriages to space shuttles. ✦
✦ Born Sherman Stennis Smith Keel (1895–1967) in a Colorado Springs orphanage. Adopted by a Keel family whose identities remain a cherished mystery — the origin of the Keel name we carry today. ✦
Generation III — Children of Sherman & Mabel
✦ Mary Etta Keel Harris (1927–2005) — Born July 1, 1927 in Denver, Colorado. Married name: Harris. Passed May 24, 2005. ✦
More photos coming soon. If you have pictures of any family members, please send them to us!
Roots & Branches of the Keel Reunion
Discover where you came from. Then explain it to the younger cousins who only care about the dessert table.
The Keel Name: Our Shared Heritage
The name "Keel" has multiple origins. English: from Middle English "kele" meaning ship or barge — our ancestors were boatmen and shipbuilders. Irish: from Gaelic "Ó Céile" meaning "descendant of the companion." German: from "Kiel" in northern Germany.
First recorded in England's Domesday Book of 1086. A ship's keel is the backbone that keeps everything steady in rough waters — that's our family. We're each other's backbone.
Keels arrived in America in the 1600s–1700s, settling in Virginia, North Carolina, and Tennessee.
The Keel Name: A Story of Choice and Belonging
"While the name 'Keel' carries centuries of history across England, Ireland, and Germany, our family's chapter began with a young boy and a new name."
In the early 20th century, a boy named Sherman Smith lived in an orphanage in Colorado Springs, Colorado. His early years were shaped not by blood relations but by resilience and hope. That hope took form when a family named Keel opened their hearts and their home, adopting him and giving him their name. The identities of those adoptive Keel parents have been lost to time — a mystery our family still holds close and cherishes.
So while many Keels trace their name back through generations of shipbuilders and companions, ours was chosen. The Keel name every one of us carries today came through the adoption of Sherman Stennis Smith Keel (1895–1967) — a name given in love by a family whose faces we may never know, and carried forward by Sherman Stennis Smith Keel with pride into the family we now celebrate. Every Keel at this reunion descends not just from a name, but from an act of love.
We honor William Maxwell Keel and Dear Dear separately and just as proudly — they are the parents of Mabel Sally Maxwell Keel (1901–1994), the wife of Sherman Stennis Smith Keel. They represent our Maxwell line: equally important, equally beloved, but a distinct branch from the Keel name itself.
"Sometimes the strongest keels aren't the ones carved from ancient wood — they're the ones forged by family, in all its forms."
✦How Did African American Keels Come to Colorado Springs?
Though the identities of Sherman's adoptive Keel parents remain unknown to us, the broader story of African Americans in Colorado Springs is one of opportunity and community. In the late 1800s and early 1900s, Colorado Springs — founded by General William Jackson Palmer, a Union Civil War hero and abolitionist — was known as a relatively welcoming place for Black families compared to many other western towns.
African American workers came to the region for jobs on the railroads, in the mines, and in the growing service industry around the famous resort hotels. A small but strong Black community formed, building churches, businesses, and fraternal organizations. It was into this community — one of hope-seekers and hard-workers — that Sherman was adopted, and where the Colorado Keel story began.
Their names may be a mystery, but their gift is not. We honor the unknown Keel family who chose Sherman, and we honor William Maxwell and Dear Dear of the Maxwell line — together, two branches that made this family possible.
Sherman Keel
Sherman Stennis Smith Keel lived a full American life. Born in 1895, he entered the world as Sherman Smith. After his adoption by the Keel family in Colorado Springs, he carried their name forward with honor. On August 18, 1921, in Denver, Colorado, he married Mabel Sally Maxwell Keel (1901–1994) — uniting the Keel and Maxwell lines forever.
When his country called, he answered — registering for the draft in both World War I and World War II. He lived through the Great Depression, two world wars, and the civil rights movement.
By the time he passed in 1967, he had built a family that would grow into generations. Not bad for an orphan boy from Colorado Springs.
Mabel — The Woman Who Held It All Together
Mabel Sally Maxwell was born in 1901 — the turn of a new century. She married Sherman Keel in Denver in 1921 at just 20 years old. Over the decades that followed, she raised a large family, survived the Great Depression, two world wars, and saw the world transform in ways no one could have imagined.
By the time she passed in 1994 at age 93, she had lived through nearly the entire 20th century — from Model T Fords to the internet age. Her daughter Mary Etta was born in Denver in 1927, one of many children who would carry the Keel name forward.
Mabel is the bridge between the Maxwell roots of Weatherford, Texas, and the Keel family we know today.
"If your branch isn't on here, it's not favoritism. We just never got your info and we're still a little hurt."
Add Your Branch
Help us complete the tree before Uncle Joe does it from memory.
Keel Reunion Hall of Fame (and Mild Embarrassment)
Decades of showing up, eating well, and taking questionable fashion risks.
Past Reunion Highlight Reels
INSERT VIDEO URL HERE — YouTube or Dropbox
INSERT VIDEO URL HERE — YouTube or Dropbox
INSERT VIDEO URL HERE — YouTube or Dropbox
"That photo of you in the 90s with the hairstyle? Iconic. Historic. Being preserved for future generations."
Got photos from past reunions? Send them to us. Yes, even the embarrassing ones. Especially those.
Aunt Cindy's Comedy Corner
— Keel Reunion Trivia —
Our family comedian with 40+ years of memories. What could go wrong?
Please welcome our family comedian — Aunt Cindy!
She's got 40+ years of family memories and isn't afraid to share them. Aunt Cindy tells stories, roasts with love, and knows exactly which cousin got too competitive at the three-legged race in 1997.