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SALT LAKE CITY — Elder Von G. Keetch of the LDS Church’s Seventy died Friday evening after a “brief and sudden illness” at age 57, according to a church official.
Elder Keetch had been serving as a general authority Seventy since April 2015, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints Spokesman Eric Hawkins said in an emailed statement.
“His loss is deeply felt,” Hawkins said. “We extend our love and prayers to his wife Bernice, his children and loved ones, and pray for the Lord's blessings of peace to be with them at this tender time."
Hawkins did not offer any other details about Elder Keetch’s illness.
Elder Keetch was also the executive director of the church’s public affairs department, according to Hawkins. He was serving as a member of the Fifth Quorum of the Seventy in Salt Lake City, and was chief outside legal counsel to the church, according to his bio on LDS.org.
Elder Keetch was born in Provo and graduated from Brigham Young University in 1984 with a bachelor’s degree in political science. He graduated from BYU’s J. Reuben Clark Law School in 1987.
In his time practicing law, Elder Keetch served as a judicial clerk to Chief Justice Warren E. Burger and Justice Antonin Scalia of the U.S. Supreme Court.
In 1981, Elder Keetch married Bernice Pymm. The couple are parents of six children.
