Help Raise Funds for Marine Memorial for Sam Keeney (Gunny)

My name is Shealeigh Keeney, and I am the youngest daughter of Sam Keeney. On January 14th, 2025, my father passed away peacefully in his sleep. My brother, Jon, was the one to find him, and as you can imagine, this experience has been devastating for our family, especially Jon since he has been the one taking care of my dad when his health has been working against him.

Anyone who knew my dad knew that he was a true pillar of the community, particularly to those in the veteran community. He was a living example of strength, perseverance, and selflessness. Whether he was lending a hand to fellow veterans, spending time with his family, or simply being present in his community, Dad impacted everyone he met. He was an inspiration—always the first to help, and always with a smile. His competitive spirit shone through in everything he did, especially in the wheelchair games, where he would often leave others in the dust, laughing all the way. He was widely recognized in Clovis and Fresno, California, with pictures of him proudly displayed in local businesses. Even when life wasn’t easy, my dad showed us how to grow through our struggles and encouraged us to pursue our dreams—whether or not they aligned with his own dream of us becoming Marines. Oh but you know he tried to make that dream happen by putting us in the Little Marines haha and having his daughters, Nina and I, give a helping hand in the community events they did. Because of my dad, we grew up on military bases where we got to meet so many of the United States heroes. I remember when I was a little girl, I wandered off with my sister while we were on one of the Military bases and found ourselves in the room with all the gun machinery and bombs haha. My dad got in so much trouble for that and so did we, but that was the day I learned the word Semper Fi.

He served over 20 years in the United States Marine Corps, a role he held with immense pride. He survived terrorist attacks, including the bombing in Beirut, and other harrowing experiences, wearing his Purple Heart as a symbol of his resilience. Despite surviving landmines, 4 strokes, sepsis, being hit by a car in his wheelchair, COVID, medication errors that were almost deadly, paraplegia, having a serious accident on his hand-cycle, brain and heart surgery which left him with just 30% heart function left, he fought relentlessly for his family. His strength, courage, and will to live were unmatched. We used to joke with him saying he was a cat and had 9 lives, but Nina being Nina said he was more like a roach that could never die which made us all laugh, my dad most especially. Because of this, we all thought we had more time, and his passing has been a complete shock to all of us. It’s especially heartbreaking because we know how much he longed to meet his beautiful grandchildren and share those moments with us before time caught up with him, which breaks our hearts even more.

Jesus called him home, but our hearts are broken. In the face of this immense loss, we take comfort in knowing that my dad touched so many lives. We know many of you have stories of how my dad impacted your life, and it brings us comfort to know he made such a difference, even though sometimes he was stubborn. But that's because he was so dang intelligent and knew what he wanted. He was an advocate for himself, us kids and many others in the Veteran Community.

With that in mind, we are reaching out to you all, our friends, family, and the broader veteran community that Dad was so proud to be part of. We want to honor his legacy with a memorial befitting a Marine—one he always wanted. We are aiming to raise $10,000 to help cover the expenses for his funeral and memorial service, including a proper Marine Corps ceremony. This will also help support my brother Jon, who took care of Dad through so many health challenges. Jon is now left to pick up the pieces alone and move forward without the man who was not only his father and best friend but also his hero.

My dad was so proud of his boy, Jon, our brother. He used to force him to be a little Marine and serve the veteran community even if he didn't want to haha. Jon is a literal doppelganger of my dad when he was young, so it's kind of comforting to look at him and see our dad living through him in appearance hahah. Jon was his only full-blood son, who he took so much pride in. And of course, there's Nina and I, his 2 girls. Nina was the apple of his eye, and I was his baby girl, Shea Bug.

We deeply appreciate any support you can provide—whether through a donation or simply sharing this message. Anything you can contribute will mean the world to us and will help us honor a man who gave so much to all of us. Let’s come together and give back to the man who gave us all the freedom we enjoy today.

Daddy, Sam, Gunny, Friend, and Family—thank you for everything. We love you so much, and we miss you more than words can express. Feeling the loss of you is physically painful like a whole has been punched through our chests, I can barely see typing this because my eyes are flooded with tears, but here's to one last HOORAH for our hero, our daddy, Samuel Martin Keeney.

Semper Fi.