Jeremiah Joseph O'Keefe

The O'Keefe family has owned O'Keefe Funeral Homes since the 1860s.

Jeremiah Joseph O'Keefe III (July 12, 1923 – August 23, 2016) was an American fighter ace, Democratic Party politician, insurance executive, and funeral director.

As a Marine pilot in World War II he received the Navy Cross for five of the seven kills he recorded over Okinawa.

Jeremiah O'Keefe was born in Ocean Springs, Mississippi, on July 12, 1923.

His parents were J. Ben O'Keefe and Teresa Slattery O'Keefe.

He was the second of four children.

With his family, he moved to Biloxi, Mississippi at age thirteen because the home he was born in and lived in was lost to the family during the Depression.

O'Keefe went to St. Alphonsus Elementary School in Ocean Springs, Mississippi and Sacred Heart Academy in Biloxi, Mississippi.

After World War II, O'Keefe graduated from Loyola University, in New Orleans, Louisiana.

O'Keefe was attending Soule Business College during the attack on Pearl Harbor.

He was a 1st Lt. with the VMF-323 Marine Squadron, known as the "Death Rattlers".

He quickly enlisted in the U.S. Navy and served from 1942 to 1943.

Then he became a fighter pilot with the U.S. Marine Corps from 1943 to 1945.

He gained recognition for his contributions to a dogfight in Okinawa on April 22, 1945, in which he shot down five Japanese Kamikazes, becoming an ace in a single day.

(This action was chronicled on the Dogfights TV series, the episode: Supersonic.)

On April 28, Lt. O'Keefe shot down another two enemy planes bringing his total victories to seven which made him the highest scoring ace in Okinawa at the time.

O'Keefe received the Navy Cross, the Distinguished Flying Cross, the Air Medal for his service and the Gold Star in lieu of a second 'Air Medal'.

Citation:

"The President of the United States of America takes pleasure in presenting the Navy Cross to First Lieutenant Jeremiah Joseph O'Keefe (MCSN: 0-25432), United States Marine Corps Reserve, for extraordinary heroism and distinguished service in the line of his profession as Section Leader and a Pilot in Marine Fighting Squadron THREE HUNDRED TWENTY-THREE (VMF-323), Marine Air Group THIRTY-THREE (MAG-33), FOURTH Marine Aircraft Wing, in aerial combat against enemy Japanese forces during the assault on Okinawa Shima, Ryukyu Islands, on 22 April 1945. Fighting his plane aggressively in two engagements against a total of more than fifty Japanese suicide dive bombers, First Lieutenant O'Keefe pressed home a series of bold attacks in the face of hostile fire to destroy five of the enemy aircraft. By his resolute courage, skillful airmanship and devotion to duty, he aided materially in preventing the numerically superior force from reaching its objective, and his gallant conduct throughout reflects the highest credit upon First Lieutenant O'Keefe and the United States Naval Service."

In 1953 O'Keefe bought the business from his father and in 1957 O'Keefe bought his major competitor's business, creating Bradford-O'Keefe Funeral Homes.

He also founded a life insurance company, Gulf National Life in 1958.

After the war he entered politics, serving as a member of the Mississippi House of Representatives from 1960 to 1964 and as the mayor of Biloxi, Mississippi, from 1973 to 1981.

The most prominent funeral homeowner in Biloxi, he won a $500 million jury award in a contractual dispute with the rival funeral home company Loewen Group, later settling for $175 million.

O'Keefe was a major donor to and chief fundraiser for the Ohr-O'Keefe Museum Of Art, named after his wife Annette, and many other civic, cultural and charitable organizations.

His son, Jeremiah Joseph O'Keefe IV, also served as a state legislator.

O'Keefe was portrayed by actor Tommy Lee Jones in the 2023 film The Burial.

Their family has a fondness for Southern cooking and storytelling which inspired Annette's 1994 publication of a family cookbook, Cooking on the Coast.

Mrs. Annette O'Keefe died on May 16, 1998, after which O'Keefe married Martha Peterson O'Keefe.

In connection with celebration of his 90th birthday on July 12, 2013, a bronze bust depicting him in his gear as a young aviator was installed in the Gulfport-Biloxi International Airport, honoring him as an ace and member of the Death Rattlers.

The only other person so honored with a bust in the airport is Lawrence E. Roberts, a Tuskegee Airman, Colonel in the US Air Force, recipient of the Congressional Gold Medal, and father of ABC host Robin Roberts.

On June 5, 2015, at the age of 91, O'Keefe was awarded the Congressional Gold Medal, the highest civilian award given by Congress.

Presentation of the medal coincided with the celebration of the 150th anniversary of the O'Keefe family's funeral business on the Mississippi Gulf Coast.

O'Keefe and his wife, Annette Saxon O'Keefe, had 13 children, 43 grandchildren, and 33 great-grandchildren.

O'Keefe died on August 23, 2016 and was buried at the Evergreen Cemetery in Ocean Springs, Mississippi.

O'Keefe was interested in civil rights and took a stand on racial justice throughout his life.

O'Keefe described an event early in his life that led him to being active and attentive to minority relations.

While in college, he was asked to join a business fraternity.

The fraternity told him that Jews and Blacks were not allowed to participate in the fraternity; O'Keefe told the fraternity that he was uninterested in joining unless they allowed minorities to participate and join.

The fraternity obliged, and altered their policy allowing minorities to join.

O'Keefe then became president of the fraternity for a year succeeding the policy change.