Keith Allen Happ
Keith Allen Happ, age 58, died on Tuesday, Oct. 27, 2015.
He was born in Cleveland, on Oct. 7, 1957, to George W. and Joan Rae (nee Martin) Happ.
He is survived by his loving wife, Mary Beth (nee Lapa) Happ; sons, Christopher and Ian; brothers, George and Kenneth; sister, Pamela; and dear nieces and nephews.
Keith was a four-sport athlete (football, wrestling, baseball, golf) at Chardon High School, where he later served as a wrestling coach. He was a member of the Lake County Community College golf team and, as a competitive amateur golfer, carried a scratch handicap. He finally achieved the illusive hole-in-one in 2013 at Chartiers Country Club in Pittsburgh.
He served the game of golf as superintendent, agronomist and ambassador. He was superintendent for eight years at Legend Lake Golf Club, Chardon, where he earned certified golf course superintendent status.
He graduated summa cum laude from The Ohio State University College of Agriculture in 1992, with a Bachelor of Science degree, completing graduate coursework before joining the United States Golf Association (USGA) as a Greens Section agronomist in the Mid-Atlantic Region, West Chester, Pa., in 1993.
Keith opened a sub-regional office of the USGA Green Section Turf Advisory service in Pittsburgh, in 2000, providing on-site consultation, education and outreach to superintendents and greens committees throughout a four-state area.
He was appointed director of the North Central Region in 2013, continuing his leadership in the restructured Central Region through 2015. He served on the USGA Research Committee, the Musser Foundation Board and was a member of the Board of Directors of the First Tee of Pittsburgh.
First and foremost, Keith was a loving husband to Mary Beth for 32 years and devoted father to Chris and Ian. He passed his love of golf and respect for the game to his sons, Chris and Ian.
His greatest joy was sharing golf and baseball with his sons. He was a patient, intelligent coach, artful batting practice pitcher and positive mentor to them and to their teammates for many years.
This June, Keith proudly became a Chicago Cubs fan, as father to Cubs first-round draft selection, Ian.
A celebration of Keith’s life was held on Monday, Nov. 2 at Scioto Country Club, 2195 Riverside Drive, Upper Arlington, Ohio, from 2-5:30 p.m. (Founders Ballroom).
Memorial contributions may be made to the OSUWMC Integrative Zen Therapy Fund, #314980, online at http://www.supportohiostate.org/goto/UZIT_khapp or mail to Medical Center Development and Alumni Affairs, 660 Ackerman Rd, 6th Floor, PO Box 183112, Columbus, OH, a program that gave Keith great comfort; or to The Ohio State University Comprehensive Cancer Center – Arthur G. James Cancer Hospital and Richard J. Solove Research Institute online at http://www.supportohiostate.org/goto/keith_happ.
