Keith Bailey Schofield Obituary (1923 - 2011)

Keith Bailey Schofield, our beloved husband, father, grandfather and friend, passed away surrounded by his family on November 2, 2011. He had congestive heart failure. Keith served a distinguished and fulfilling career as a clandestine operations officer and senior executive for the Central Intelligence Agency. His assignments included two-year tours of duty in Uruguay, Venezuela, Dominican Republic, Bolivia, Honduras, Ecuador, Mexico and at CIA headquarters in Langley, Virginia. He also served his country building Liberty Ships and A-20B bombers, and as a soldier and Infantry 2nd Lieutenant in the European theater in World War II. Born September 27, 1923, in Rupert, Idaho, Keith was the oldest of four children born to Stella and Vao Schofield. Keith majored in Russian at Brigham Young University and graduated from Harvard Law School. While attending law school, Keith was introduced to his future wife, Phyllis Sheldon, by his friends from Rupert, Idaho who met Phyllis, a Massachusetts native, during a youth bicycle tour of Europe. They were married in Bedford, Massachusetts and sealed in the Idaho Falls Temple. Early in his career, Keith worked as an Assistant Attorney General for the State of Idaho and twice waged spirited campaigns for U.S. Congress. Keith was a faithful and active member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. He served a mission in Argentina and, after retiring, served another mission with his wife, Phyllis, in Spain. He was a Temple ordinance worker and sealer; a counselor to mission presidents in Argentina, Bolivia, Mexico and Spain; and a Branch President eight times, including at the Provo Missionary Training Center. Keith authored a book entitled Biography of Mormon: Mormon, Divine Genius of the Book of Mormon. Keith will be remembered for his determination, idealism and energetic advocacy for the causes he believed in. He inspired his family with a love for travel, history and service. His enormous personal library, which he packed up and shipped numerous times during the family’s international moves, demonstrated his genuine love for books and ideas. His favorite topics were religion, history and politics. Keith’s discipline kept him in excellent physical condition – he won medals in the 50-, 100- and 200-yard dashes in several Senior Olympic Games despite undergoing a 7-artery bypass operation two decades earlier. Keith is survived by his beloved wife, Phyllis; brother, Lyle; three children, Ann Lindsay (John), Robert, and Charity Dahl (Alex); and three treasured grandchildren, Heather Nakken (Brandon), Laura Basilius (Jacob), and John. He is preceded in death by his parents and his siblings Vaona McBride and Gary Schofield. Funeral services will be held at noon on Saturday, November 5th, at the Timpview 5th Ward, 865 West 1000 North, Orem. A visitation for family and friends will be held prior to the services from 11 to 11:45 a.m. A graveside service will follow at the Larkin Sunset Gardens Cemetery, 1950 East 10600 South, Sandy, Utah. The family asks that, in lieu of flowers, donations be made to the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints Perpetual Education Fund.