Jun. 29—Paul J. McKeen has made a fortune and lost it but throughout his life, he’s never stopped giving back.
Recently, the retired sales and finance entrepreneur was honored by his alma mater for his generous spirit.
The University of Iowa named the Mesa resident to its 2023 list of “Eight of Eighty” benefactors.
The university doesn’t have a “Nine over Ninety” list of Hawkeyes for special honors or the 91-year-old Chicago native would have made that.
McKeen lived in Iowa from the time he was 16 until 1999, when he moved to Mesa with his wife of 66 years, who passed away five years ago.
Though he had a couple successful insurance and real estate businesses in Iowa, he said he moved to Mesa after an associate convinced him to come out of retirement and move here because business opportunities were plentiful.
“When I moved here…I’d been very successful in my business. I had just short of $3 million and had all of that in real estate,” said McKeen, who with his wife raised four children.
But in 2009, the real estate market crashed.
“The wonderful government stepped in and caused everything to crash while they made millions. I lost every penny,” he said. “So, my wife and I struggled, but we made it.”
In. honoring him, the university noted that McKeen “has used his experiences in sales and finance — building three successful companies — to mentor and assist young people in planning and growing their own businesses.
“An avid reader, McKeen has made books more accessible to those in assisted living facilities and worked with libraries, community members, and others to gather materials for a lending library,” it said, adding:
“Most recently, he worked to add a large-print section to the library for those who have trouble reading smaller print.”
The university only gave passing mention to the fact that McKeen “earned an honorary letter from Iowa in 1983 for promoting University of Iowa athletics and establishing the Johnson County I-Club.”
That single sentence belies the full extent of that effort.
“My brother and I lived in Iowa City, the home of the University of Iowa and we were very involved in supporting its programs,” McKeen recalled, explaining that they built the Johnson County I-Club into a fundraising machine that eventually raised $5 million a year for the university.
Such fundraising is especially important for the University of Iowa, since it is one of the rare American institutions of higher learning that does not fund its athletic program and relies entirely on contributions to support it.
They named the club after Johnson County because that is the home to the university — and many businesses that benefit from their proximity to it.
In return for membership fees to the club, donors enjoy various privileges that range from discounts on game tickets to social events.
McKeen’s enthusiasm for UI’s athletic program was somewhat unusual in that he never had time as a youngster to grow into an effective player for a sports team.
“I was born in the Depression and we had to work,” McKeen explained. “We didn’t get a chance to go out and play for a team.”
By the time he did go out for football in his sophomore year, he recalled, “I didn’t have the background. I loved it but I rode the bench most of the time.”
Even before the I-Club, McKeen helped the university when he answered the call of the athletic director to serve in a way that surprised him: to become a judge for picking cheerleaders and pompom girls.
“I said, ‘This is not serious. What did I know about that?'” he recalled of his initial reaction. “He said he’d have someone teach us.”
McKeen spent eight years on the committee “and then my wife and I started an annual banquet for those kids to reward them for being ambassadors for their school.”
From there, McKeen transitioned to raising money more directly from alumni and the area business community. His support garnered him that honorary letter in 1983.
McKeen has remained a loyal Hawkeye throughout his life in Mesa, even after he was confined to a wheelchair the last two years at the Canyon Winds Retirement Community.
Cellulitis attacked the bones in his feet, forcing him to get five amputations.
But living in a wheelchair hasn’t blunted his philanthropy. It just took a different direction last fall after one of his caretakers told him about a homeless man who approached her on the street and instead of asking for money, asked her for a blanket.
So McKeen proposed to the caretaker that they start a clothing drive.
“I was the inside man, soliciting donations and she was the outside woman who found organizations that help people.”
McKeen worked the phone and emails, and Canyon Winds helped by setting up large boxes outside its front door for people to drop off clothing.
At the same time, McKeen’s contacts in Iowa responded to his call, sending him more clothing as well as cash donations.
By last Christmas, he and caretaker Donna Phipps provided clothing for 100 people and raised enough money to buy gifts for 76 families and 44 kids who were either in shelters for the homeless battered women.
McKeen isn’t sure what he’ll do next but he’s thinking about some other way to continue his philanthropy.
His reasoning is simple.
“I had a very blessed life,” he said. “I was very successful in business and my wife was clearly one of God’s angels. When she passed away, I started doing more charitable things. I just want to give back.”
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