Penny R. Keck

Penny Rae (Hammond) Keck, 71, of Devils Lake, North Dakota, passed away October 5th, 2025 surrounded by the love of her family.

Born on May 17th, 1954, Penny was the middle child of seven to James “Walt” Hammond and Jean (Morris) Hammond. For her first year of life, the family lived in Clyde, ND until 1955 when they moved to Devils Lake where she grew up in a lively home on 2nd Street. She attended Prairie View Elementary School.

In 1971, fate intervened when a friend asked Dwight Keck to give her a ride home after a party. That simple car ride sparked a love story that lasted a lifetime. Penny graduated from Devils Lake Central High School in 1972 and, after several years of dating, married her high school sweetheart, Dwight, in 1977 at St. Joseph’s Catholic Church in Devils Lake.

After graduation Penny worked at Mercy Hospital as a nurses aid. In 1978 she graduated from the LPN program at Lake Region Junior College, and continued to work at the hospital as a LPN, spending the majority of her time there caring for babies in the nursery. Penny began working on the nursing team at the North Dakota School for the Deaf in September of 1980. When the nursing staff was cut back, Penny worked as a teachers' aide , then as a house parent in the dormitory. She loved working closely with the students on a daily basis. Penny sincerely enjoyed her 34 year career at NDSD. She retired in 2014, grateful for the friendships and memories she made there.

Penny and Dwight were blessed with two daughters, April (born 1981) and Alicia (born 1986). Penny shared her love of art with them, always ready with a new project or a table full of paints, paper, and glue—especially around the holidays. Her artistic talent and imagination brought beauty and laughter to every room she entered. A gifted artist and gardener, Penny found joy in life’s simple pleasures—digging in her flower beds, sketching, photographing every beautiful sunset she saw, and spending time with her family. Her greatest joy came from being “Nana” to her grandchildren, Aiden and Nova.

Whether she was spending summer weekends at Wood Lake feeding the fish and humming birds and going for fast boat rides, or hunting down the flashiest, noisiest toy she could find, Penny made every moment special and unforgettable.

Penny will be remembered for her warmth, her kindness, her humor, her creativity, and her endless love for her family.

She is survived by her husband of 48 years, Dwight; daughters April Jean (Keck) and husband Kevin O’Brien and Alicia Dee Keck; grandchildren Aiden Quinn O’Brien and Nova Rae Keck; her siblings Carol (Hammond) Kuntz, Michael (Carolyn)Hammond, Diane (Hammond) Hill, Brad (Jan) Hammond, Roger (Jeanne) Hammond, and Patty (Hammond) Cote; aunt Betty Downs; uncle Dennis Morris; brother-in-law Lyle Johanson and many loved nieces and nephews; and dear lifetime friends; Pat and Dave Dettling and family and Lanny and Becky Duhamel and family.

She was preceded in death by her parents, Walt and Jean Hammond, in-law Delores and Glenn Keck, sister-in-law Norma Johanson and other precious relatives.