Jeremiah Joseph O'Keefe

Common card · No. 275819

Jeremiah Joseph O'Keefe III (July 12, 1923 – August 23, 2016) was an American fighter ace, Democratic Party politician, insurance executive, and funeral director. As a Marine pilot in World War II he received the Navy Cross for five of the seven kills he recorded over Okinawa. After the war he entered politics, serving as a member of the Mississippi House of Representatives from 1960 to 1964 and as the mayor of Biloxi, Mississippi, from 1973 to 1981. The most prominent funeral homeowner in Biloxi, he won a $500 million jury award in a contractual dispute with the rival funeral home company Loewen Group, later settling for $175 million. O'Keefe was a major donor to and chief fundraiser for the Ohr-O'Keefe Museum Of Art, named after his wife Annette, and many other civic, cultural and charitable organizations. His son, Jeremiah Joseph O'Keefe IV, also served as a state legislator. O'Keefe was portrayed by actor Tommy Lee Jones in the 2023 film The Burial.

Read on Wikipedia · Image Sokeefe001, CC BY-SA 3.0