Parents die within days, leaving teenage son behind
Jason Keats of Glovertown died of cancer on Dec. 22 and his wife, Robyn, died unexpectedly on Boxing Day
CORNER BROOK — “Memories remind us that nothing lasts forever and that … time is precious and should not be wasted. Enjoy life and remember, don’t count the days, make the days count.”
That was the inspirational message Robyn Keats of Glovertown used as the cover photo of her Facebook profile last Feb. 19.
At the time, her family was dealing with the devastating news that her husband, Jason Keats, had been given a dire diagnosis of stomach cancer. He was told that, without treatment, he had just weeks to live, but even the medical care available to him might only give him months.
The message behind Robyn’s cover photo were words Jason chose to live by, as he spent quality time with his family every day he was well enough to, especially their 14-year-old son, Simon.
While the family knew Jason’s illness would cut short his time with them, losing him just before Christmas — on Dec. 22 — came somewhat unexpectedly.
Unfortunately, it was not the only tragedy the family experienced during the holidays.
While grieving her husband, Robyn fell ill, too. In the early morning hours of Boxing Day, she died from cardiac arrest.
Jason was 42 years old. Robyn was 40.
The couple met when they were small children — Robyn was eight and Jason was 10 — and they had been married for 18 years.
JASON
Martin Keats, Jason’s older brother, noted that his younger sibling had been dealt quite a tough hand in life in recent years.
In 2016, while living in Fort Mcmurray, Alta., Jason lost his job, and his family lost everything they owned to the wildfires that ravaged the area at the time.
With Jason out of work, they moved back to Newfoundland and Labrador to try to reset their lives. Jason ended up flying back and forth to Alberta to work driving a truck, while the rest of the family stayed home in Glovertown.
Last January, after feeling too weak to serve as a pallbearer at his grandmother’s funeral, Jason got himself checked out. That’s when he was told he had a serious form of cancer.
In March, in the midst of dealing with his diagnosis, a fire at the apartment building the Keats were living in displaced them once again. It was months before they finally were able to move into the lower-level apartment of a house.
Despite all the hardships life was throwing at them, the Keats kept a positive outlook, said Martin. Jason’s focus was intently on his son during his final months.
“Simon was his life,” said Martin. “He always was, but, for the last 11 months, every minute of every day was about making memories with Simon.”
Jason was an avid outdoorsman and was eager to show Simon how to fish, hunt for small game and enjoy all that the great outdoors offers. Martin spoke with his brother three days before he died, and Jason told him that they had been out driving the woods roads hunting rabbit and grouse just days before.
“Jason was that weak, he couldn’t get out of the truck,” recounted Martin. “Simon would get out and do the hunting.”
Jason was also intent on building a cabin next to their father’s cabin that his son could enjoy after he was gone. On Nov. 22, Jason proudly texted Martin a photo of himself standing on the floorcovered foundation of the cabin he was building.
“Jason always said I’m not going to die until that cabin is built for my son,” Martin said. “I told him a couple of weeks ago, if anything happened to you before that cabin gets built, I’ll see it through to make sure it gets finished. Whatever it takes to get it done.”
Their father, Carl Keats, used to run a sawmill. To help Jason’s building efforts, the elder Keats rebuilt his old backyard mill and got the licences needed to operate it so he could mill the lumber needed for the cabin.
“Dad was trying to keep Jason motivated and keep him going to keep fighting,” said Martin. “I know Jason was suffering behind the scenes, but it kept him motivated, his feet planted and the positive side forward.”
A SETBACK
Jason seemed to have been responding to his initial chemotherapy treatments, but a medical examination later in the year revealed his cancer was spreading.
His doctors recommended a new approach to his treatment. He had only had one round when he began feeling sick.
The last thing he wanted was to be in the hospital for Christmas, but he went to get checked out on Dec. 21. After spending the night at the hospital in Gander, he was permitted to go home.
He took a turn for the worse shortly after arriving home and died not long afterward.
Simon was holding him when he died.
ROBYN
Brandon Burry, Robyn’s second cousin, lived in the upstairs apartment of the home the Keats lived in.
He has known the couple all of his life. He can attest to the love both Jason and Robyn showered on their son, who they fondly referred to as “kiddo.”
“Robyn was a sweetheart with a heart of gold,” said Burry. “She wanted to do whatever she could for her boys. Simon was her world and anything she could possibly do for him, she done it.”
Robyn lucked out when the family moved to Glovertown, as she was able to secure a work-from-home job doing data entry, which allowed her to stay close to her family.
Like everyone else, Burry was shocked and immensely saddened to hear the news that Robyn had died just days after Jason.
He said she died of a broken heart.
“It’s devastating, but if there was ever a family who could teach everyone about loving each other, that was them,” he said. “We’ve lived in the same house with them and I never heard them fight or say anything bad about someone. Every time they left each other’s side, they told each other they loved each other. They were a family that was all about each other.”
Martin Keats was also floored by the sad news of Robyn’s death, adding that he had been talking to his sisterin-law earlier on Christmas Day to tell her to not hesitate to ask him for any help she needed.
He said there were no red flags, but figured the stress and anxiety from the overwhelming grief she was experiencing took a catastrophic toll on her.
“If two parents got taken away in some sort of tragic accident, you could almost understand it,” he said. “But under these circumstances, three days apart for two different reasons is just unbelievably sad.”
SIMON
Burry said the Keats have had a big support system between both Jason’s and Robyn’s family, and that support will be needed even more now for Simon.
That support has already grown beyond family and friends to include complete strangers.
Just before Jason died, the quad he and Simon used lost its motor. Burry had been trying to secure a replacement for it. After posting why he was looking for one, someone donated a complete used quad in good working order to give to Simon.
Burry has since turned his attention to doing a fundraiser to donate money to the family to cover some expenses and to give to Simon directly.
He couldn’t heap enough praise on the kind of person Simon is.
“Simon is an amazing kid,” he said. “If his dad needed help, he was there. He did everything he could to help his dad and his mom.”
After his dad died, Simon showed up at Burry’s door. When his wife opened the door, Burry said, Simon told her that she looked like she needed a hug and proceeded to give her one.
“I think he’s probably the strongest one out of us all right now,” said Burry.
WHERE FROM HERE
A welder and machinist by trade, Martin made an urn as a project more than 20 years ago. He thought he had done such a nice job with it that he had it chromed and has been carrying it around ever since.
When Simon asked him if he could use it for his father’s ashes, his uncle did not hesitate to give it to him.
“Jason said when he dies, he wants his ashes in an urn above the door of the cabin,” said Martin.
By Simon’s request, Martin said, Robyn’s ashes will be kept in a separate urn.
Simon has chosen to go live with his grandfather, Carl Keats, who has prepared his house for him.
Martin agreed that Simon has been a rock, considering what he has been through this Christmas.
“He told my dad, ‘Pop, you look after me for the next few years and then I’ll look after you, because you and Uncle Martin are all I got now,’” Martin recounted.
Martin has spoken with Simon’s teacher and has promised that his nephew will have all he needs to deal with his new life. That includes setting up an education fund for him.
“I told him, ‘You’re the same as my son now,’” said Martin. “We’ll see what the future holds for him. He seems to be doing fine. I don’t know if this has all sunk in for him yet or if he’s just accepting it.”