SALT LAKE CITY, Utah, Jan. 27, 2018 (Gephardt Daily) — Elder Von G. Keetch, General Authority Seventy in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, died Friday evening after a brief illness, the Church stated in a news release. He was 57 years old.
Keetch was sustained as a General Authority Seventy on April 4, 2015, according to his biography. Prior to that, he had been serving as a member of the Fifth Quorum of the Seventy and as chief outside counsel to the Church.
Keetch, who was born in Provo on March 17, 1960, earned his bachelor’s degree in political science from Brigham Young University in 1984 and a juris doctor degree from the J. Reuben Clark Law School at BYU in 1987.
He served as a judicial clerk to Judge George C. Pratt of the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit and, later, as a judicial clerk to Chief Justice Warren E. Burger and Justice Antonin Scalia of the United States Supreme Court.
Keetch practiced law at Kirton McConkie from 1990 to 2015.
In announcing his death Friday night, the Church said:
“We are deeply saddened to share with you that Elder Von G. Keetch, General Authority Seventy, died this evening following a brief and sudden illness. Elder Keetch has been serving as a General Authority Seventy since April of 2015. Among other assignments, Elder Keetch has been serving as the executive director of the Public Affairs Department. His loss is deeply felt, and 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.”
