Swansboro- Donald Paul Keating, Sr., 90, passed away at his home on Thursday, June 4, 2026. He was born on October 24, 1935, son of the late Thomas Henry and Ida Walter Keating.

A Funeral Mass will be held Friday, June 12, 2026, at 11:00 AM at St Mildred Catholic Church, with Father Dave Miller officiating. Burial will follow at Seaside Memorial Park. The family will receive friends Thursday, June 11, 2026, from 6-8 PM at Jones Funeral Home-Swansboro.

Don loved the automobile industry, having grown up with the strong influence of his father, Thomas Henry Keating, former Vice President of General Motors and head of Chevrolet. After graduating from Notre Dame University, Don worked within General Motors as a district manager in Michigan, eventually moving his family to North Carolina in 1974 when he purchased the local Chevrolet auto dealership and later taking the considerable risk to sell BMWs before they were known in the US. The motto for his dealership was “the dealer with his heart in the right place.” After retiring from the auto industry, he moved to Emerald Isle where he began his second career as a local real estate broker.

The motto of having his heart in the right place may be applied to all of his life, especially after he and Elaine both experienced profound conversions back to the Catholic Faith and became involved in many areas of parish life at St. Mildred Catholic Church. Most noteworthy was Don’s passionate effort to establish 24-hour Eucharistic Adoration. He was deeply devoted to the Blessed Virgin Mary, and he and Elaine consecrated themselves to her many years ago. They were proud to be involved in taking her Missionary Image on pilgrimage to various locations throughout the world, including Fatima on the 75th anniversary of the apparitions and across Red Square in Moscow when it was still dangerous for missionaries. In his last days on earth he knew the cross of losing his wife of 65 years after suffering his own illness for a long period was the cross Our Lord asked of him, and Don accepted this cross and God’s will for him. His children will carry this witness of acceptance as part of his legacy. Don would be the first to say to give all praise to God and express his gratitude to God for the gifts of being a husband, father, grandfather, and great-grandfather.

He is survived by his daughter, Mary Katherine Keating of Newport, NH; sons, Donald Paul Keating, Jr. (Julie) of Charleston, SC, John Walter Keating of Swansboro, and Paul Joseph Keating of Wilmington; grandchildren, Elizabeth, Donald, III, Caroline, Katherine, and Henry; and great-granddaughter, Camila.

He was preceded in death by his wife of 65 years, Elaine Kay Keating; and his siblings, Tom Keating, Walter Keating and Mary Lou Millenbach.