Meet Eureka Alderman: Bob Kee Jr.

If one wants to see Eureka Alderman Bob Kee Jr. this fall, the best chance of finding him almost will certainly be at a football game, watching his grandkids.

“Playing with my grandchildren is how I relieve stress,” said Kee. All five of Kee’s children have stayed in or near Eureka, and most of his 28 grandchildren live in the area, as well. And the program has been a way to bond with his family for two generations.

At age 72, Kee insists he’s taking things easy, but you couldn’t tell it from his schedule. In addition to his work as Eureka’s Ward 2 Alderman, he remains active in the , and Jaycees, as well as at . While he’s given up golf, he continues to garden and fish. The one concession he’s made to age is to give up fishing in the fast-flowing Meramec River, preferring the slower waters of Truman Lake and Lake of the Ozarks.

Kee is a man of wide interests. A former baseball player in high school, he continues to follow the Cardinals. While still in high school he began working in a silkscreen print shop. As an adult he’s traveled widely through the United States and Europe, finally getting to see the Grand Canyon just this year. He can discuss the fiction of John Grisham, and provide a capsule summary of the differences between the Jeff Bridges and John Wayne versions of the movie “True Grit” (“The Jeff Bridges version seemed more realistic,” he reflected.)

But for the last 45 years, Kee has been an eyewitness to the changes in Eureka, as a member of the Planning and Zoning Commission for a decade, and then serving as Alderman.

To him, the best thing about about the city is what hasn’t changed. “It’s a small community," he observed, “but you’re still exposed to the wider world.”