Keith Brandt

Keith Brandt, age 82, of Milton, Florida, passed away on March 21, 2026.

Graveside services with Military Honors will be held at 10:30 a.m. on Friday, June 26, 2026 in the Plumer Settlement Cemetery, rural Glenwood, IA. Loess Hills Funeral Home in Glenwood is caring for Keith and his family.

In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions may be made to the Salem Lutheran Association Board, Mary Johnson (Treasurer), 4307 Cottage Row, Council Bluffs, Iowa 51501.

OBITUARY
Keith John Brandt, age 82, of Milton, Florida, passed away on March 21, 2026.

Keith was the eldest of five children of the late Dorothy Louise (Buch) and Albert John Brandt. Born November 30, 1943 in Council Bluffs, Iowa, he grew up on the family farm in St. Marys Township in Mills County, attending rural Eureka #2 School there, and then graduating from Abraham Lincoln High School in Council Bluffs in 1962.

While in high school, Keith met Susanna “Susie” Beck. They were married on August 29, 1964 in Council Bluffs and lived in Omaha, Nebraska where Keith worked as a draftsman for Lozier, Corp., until he joined the U.S. Navy in 1966, proudly serving as a Cryptologic Technician (Technical Branch) for 23 years, finally “retiring” as a Chief Petty Officer in Pensacola, Florida in 1989. While serving in the Navy, Keith earned his Bachelor of Science degree in Management from the University of Maryland. During his Navy career, Keith and Susie were blessed with two children, Kristine “Kristi” and John, and were fortunate enough to live all around the world - including the Philippines, Morocco, Taiwan, Spain, and Japan.

Following his retirement from the Navy, Keith worked as a Programmer Analyst for Science Applications International Corporation as a contractor for the U.S. Navy in Pensacola, Florida, as the Manager of Information Technology for Solutia, Inc., at their Foley, Alabama plant, and finally as Senior Information Systems Analyst for the Escambia County Sheriff’s Office in Pensacola.

In 2007, Keith and Susie both retired and moved to Seymour, Tennessee to enjoy the four seasons and mountains, and to escape the Florida humidity and hurricanes. They joined St. Paul Lutheran Church in Sevierville, Tennessee, where Keith served as an elder and was active in other ministries, including making audio CDs for shut-ins and as the church’s webmaster for over 13 years. In addition to church activities, he also enjoyed hiking, yard work, playing pinochle with friends, following the Atlanta Braves, attending Tennessee Smokies baseball games, and enjoying the views while sitting on the back porch. Interested in genealogy and family history, he traced branches of his ancestry to Germany and Switzerland and followed their migration to all parts of America, with his and Susie’s ancestors eventually settling in the Plumer Settlement in Mills County. In memory and honor of those ancestors and other pioneer settlers, Keith designed and maintained the web page for the Plumer Settlement, including Salem Lutheran Church and the Plumer Cemetery.

In 2025, due to medical reasons, Keith and Susie decided to downsize and return to Florida in order to be closer to their daughter, Kristi.

Keith was preceded in death by his parents and is survived by his wife Susie of 61 years of Milton, Florida; daughter Kristine “Kristi” (Jim) Hunt of Pensacola, Florida; son John (Silvia); grandchildren Sarah and Nathan of Urbana, Maryland; sisters Joyce (Miles) McMahill of Gretna, Nebraska, and Michele (Richard) Delanty of Camdenton, Missouri; brothers Roger (Trudy) Brandt and Mark (Sue) Brandt, both of Omaha, Nebraska; nieces and nephews; other relatives and many friends.