William Langdon Keaton was born in New Haven, Connecticut on March 11, 1965 to the late Nathaniel Sr. and Margaret D. Keaton. “Bill” as he was affectionately known was a product of the New Haven school system where he attended Timothy Dwight, Roger Sherman, Augusta Lewis Troup Middle School and graduating in 1983 from James Hillhouse High School.
During his childhood years, he was a member of the Walter “Pop” Smith Little League. He had an affinity for reading and loved to watch educational programs and documentaries. While in high school, Bill was a member of the powerhouse Hillhouse basketball and football teams. By his junior year, he decided to hang up his basketball sneakers to concentrate on football under the leadership of Coach Tim Jennings. It was there that he formed an “unbreakable” bond with his teammates that remained well into his adulthood. Bill proudly wore his team jacket around town with the team’s logo on the back, Hillhouse “Wrecking Crew.”
Also during his high school years, Bill held down a part time job at Macy’s working in the restaurant.
Upon graduating, Bill served his country by entering in the United States Navy and in May of 1984 Graduated with “distinction” as a Navy Corpsman from the Naval Hospital Corps School in Great Lakes Illinois.
For the next four years, Corpsman Keaton was stationed in California at the Marine base, Camp Pendleton where he proudly served. While attending to the injured Marines, he was proud of his designation of “Expert Marksman”.
After his military career, Bill moved to Los Angeles where he worked in the music industry as a concert road manager. In 1989, he returned to New Haven to work in the Department of Correction as a Correctional Medic until phased out by the state in the mid 90s. Bill then transferred his State Service to the State Judicial Marshals working in both New Haven courthouses and Union Avenue Detention Center until his retirement.
His hobbies included reading, sports, discussing politics, but most of all, he enjoyed “sports shooting” and could be spotted at several of the shooting ranges in the area. By the way Bill was the biggest fan of “UConn Women’s Basketball” for many years. He also was a very big fan of Formula 1 racing.
Bill is survived by aunts, Barbara Davis of New Haven, Oreatha Ogletree and Angeline Davis of Winter Haven Florida; uncle, Carrol Keaton also of Winter Haven Florida; brother, Nathaniel Keaton Jr. of New Haven; nephew, Nathaniel Keaton, III of Groton; sister-in-law, Mary Keaton of New Haven; special friend, Kimberly Tucker of New York City; and a host of family members and friends in Connecticut, Florida, West Virginia, Texas, North Carolina and abroad.