USA Fencing

(Colorado Springs, Colo.) – A member of the 1968 U.S. Olympic Team, Anthony John “Jack” Keane (East Brunswick, N.J.) passed away in New Brunswick, N.J. on Sunday at the age of 87.

Keane, a former football player, began fencing at age 29 and qualified for his first National Championship final within a year. Originally a foil fencer, Keane switched to saber in 1962 and earned a position on the U.S. Olympic Team just six years later at the age of 40.  

Keane, who would later be inducted into the USA Fencing Hall of Fame, also earned titles at the 1967 Pan American Games and 1968 National Championships. He continued to be actively involved in the sport as a U.S. team captain for three Olympic Games (1976, 1980 and 1984) and as a referee, earning the honor of USA Fencing Referee Emeritus in 1999.  

Funeral services will be held Friday, April 22, at 9:15 a.m. at the Brunswick Memorial Home, 454 Cranbury Road, East Brunswick, followed by a 10 a.m. mass at St. Bartholomew RC Church, East Brunswick. Interment will follow in St. Raymond's Cemetery in the Bronx, N.Y.