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John, Martha, and I would usually get a laugh every March Meet regarding the pronunciation of our last names Keil and Heil.

 

Seems many folks pronounced their last name incorrectly as Kyle rather than the correct keel whereas most called me heel (maybe for a reason) rather then the correct Hyle.

 

Another major loss in the O scale hobby.

Thanks for the information Dan. We've lost another from the "old guard" and our list of surviving members grows thinner. My best wishes and prayers to the family as this is a terrible time of year (not that any is good) to lose a member of the family. I hope his wife continues to attend some of the major shows and stays in touch with old friends.

 

butch  

Very sad news, I had the pleasure of meeting he and Martha, a number of times years ago , We even shared a meal or two along with other friends. Yes he had a great line of detail parts.  John was a true gentlemen a guy you would be proud to call a friend, and lucky to have known him.  May he rest in Gods arms in peace. My prayers for his family in this time of sadness

Originally Posted by PRR Man:

John Keil was a pioneer in this hobby, creating a prolific amount of parts and kits that have been the gold standard to our craft.

rest in peace.

 

Yes, indeed, he will be missed....

 

What is less known is that John purchased the tooling for the white metal parts that Walthers made (O scale) for their line of passenger car kits, et al, to sustain their availability.  This includes a plethora of interior details as well as underbody, roof, ends, trackside, etc., etc., etc..  While John did not have a website, he was always very responsive to phone calls/emails inquiring about products.  His printed catalog had a few drawings of select items.  If you wanted to see a better example of a particular item, he would email you a photo.  Very accommodating.

 

I am hoping against hope that someone like the recent purchasers of the Berkshire Valley line of products/castings will step forward to keep this VERY important line going, too.  After all, St. Louis, MO isn't that far away from Wonder Lake, IL.

 

John Keil.....I'm REALLY going to miss you!  My sincerest condolences to the 'Mom' of this Mom&Pop contribution to our hobby.

 

KD

 

 

I am also very saddened to read this as well. I was finally able to get to my first March meet this year and pick up the circular passenger roof vents I had been looking for. They were an extremely pleasant couple and my wife hit it off with Martha as they discussed doll houses. My sincere condolences to Martha and her family.

Anybody with any German language training was going to pronounce his and Heil's

name as the long English "i". That is how that spelling is pronounced in German, and

long "e" is how it would have been pronounced if spelled "Kiel".  I had forgotten this,

and hope somebody picks up the line.  (I did pronoune "Keil", as a long "i"...I can't

help it if it has been Anglicized, but although I bought parts from him, I never had

a need to personally address him)

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