Silas Keehn, former President of the Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago and a leader in Chicago’s business and civic communities, died Saturday at his home in Evanston, Illinois. He was 85.
Keehn was born in New Rochelle, New York in 1930 and spent his early years in Scarsdale, New York and Kenilworth, Illinois. He attended Rye Country Day School in Rye, New York and Joseph Sears School in Kenilworth and later Deerfield Academy in Deerfield, Massachusetts, from which he graduated in 1948.
He earned a degree in government from Hamilton College in Clinton, New York in 1952, where he played lacrosse and was a member of Alpha Delta Phi. His relationship with Hamilton would continue through the rest of his life. He joined Hamilton’s Board of Trustees in 1979, was elected a Life Trustee in 1999, and played an active role in several capital campaigns for the college.
Keehn received an MBA from the Harvard Business School in 1957, following three years of service in the United States Navy, including two years of active duty as the Gunnery Officer aboard the U.S.S. Goodrich.
In 1957 he joined the training program at Mellon Bank in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, where he held positions of increasing responsibility, became a Director, and was named Vice Chairman.
In 1980 Keehn became CEO and Chairman of the Board of Pullman Incorporated, based in Chicago. Soon after joining, Pullman became the target of a hostile takeover, which Keehn managed to a successful resolution. This transaction ushered in an era of significant merger activity in the U.S. and served as an important case protecting the rights of corporate shareholders.
In July 1981 he became the seventh President of the Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago, where he served until his retirement in September 1994. During his term he was a voting member of the Federal Open Market Committee, serving under Chairmen Paul Volcker and Alan Greenspan.
His years at the Chicago Fed were marked by calm, steady leadership during a period of volatility and transition in the Midwest’s financial and manufacturing sectors, as well as the stock market crash of 1987.
Following his retirement from the Federal Reserve, he became the sole American member of the Supervisory Board of Dutch financial institution ABN-AMRO. He was also a director of Kewaunee Scientific Corporation as well as the Chicago Board Options Exchange and the National Futures Association.
Throughout his career, Keehn was committed to charitable and civic leadership. In Chicago, he was active at Rush-Presbyterian-St. Luke’s Medical Center for many years, where he served as a trustee and member of the Executive Committee. He was also a director of the United Way/Crusade of Mercy, the Chicagoland Chamber of Commerce, the Economic Club of Chicago, and the Civic Committee of the Commercial Club of Chicago. During his time in Pittsburgh he was a director of Eye and Ear Hospital of Pittsburgh, the University of Pittsburgh Health Center, and the United Way of Allegheny County.
Keehn’s years in the Navy had a profound impact on him, and he developed a love of the sea that stayed with him throughout his life. He owned a small sailboat which he sailed for many summers during vacations to his beloved Nantucket, MA. He delighted in taking his entire family out sailing with him and passed his love of the sport down to his three children.
Keehn was deeply devoted to his family and delighted in organizing and hosting family gatherings whenever possible. He is survived by his wife of 61 years Marcia Lindquist Keehn, daughter Libby Keehn Lewis and her husband John of Winnetka, Illinois, daughter Britta Keehn Scott and her husband Edward of Riverside, Connecticut, and son Peter Keehn and his wife Stephanie of Wilmette, Illinois, and eight grandchildren.
A memorial service celebrating Silas Keehn’s life will be held at Kenilworth Union Church on April 2. In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to the Grant Keehn Prize Scholarship at Hamilton College or to Rush Presbyterian-St. Luke’s Medical Center.