Wednesday, May 27, 2020
Jerry Cobb was, by far, the Keith Oil Corp./Campello-Keith employee par excellence throughout more than five decades. Keith Oil Corporation was founded by my grandfather, Warren Reed Keith, in 1907. It was first known as Independent Oil Company and eventually was incorporated. My family sold it to Campello Coal in 1970, at which point the name became Campello-Keith. Jerry served Keith Oil and Campello-Keith loyally and well. He was a hard and versatile worker, delivering heating oil to all of the towns surrounding Brockton, and was an expert carpenter, as well. He was the face of Keith Oil to most of its customers, and their loyalty to the company bore witness to that face. I considered Jerry to be not only a good employee, but also a good friend. Because of that, whenever I could, even after moving to Florida in 2001, I would visit him, or at least call him every few months. The news that he had passed away came as a shock to me, although I knew he had had open heart surgery. I send my sincere condolences to his wife, Jeanne.
