Rafael Keech

Private funeral services will be held at Ryan Funeral Home. Plans for the livestream link have changed, it will not be posted here on the website, but will be sent out individually by the family.

Madison - Rafael Alister Keech, age 32, passed away on Tuesday, March 22, 2022. Rafael was born on April 7, 1989 in Oxford, England to David and Ruth (Fernandez) Keech. He moved with his parents to Denmark and Saudi Arabia before arriving with them to Fort Lauderdale, FL in 1997. He lived in the USA for the rest of his life and naturalized gleefully as a US citizen in Madison Wisconsin in 2015 glad that he was finally able to vote. He graduated from Granville High School before attending Ohio State University where he graduated with a Bachelor’s degree with honors. Rafael followed in his father’s footsteps in making IT his career choice. After a couple of years with Hyland software where he became an expert in their Single Enterprise Information software product named Onbase, he branched out into freelance consulting before forming his own Onbase consulting company three years ago. He quickly became recognized as one of the very best top notch experts in his field and was always in high demand with very satisfied clients.

Rafael was a very quick learner and studied in depth anything that interested him so that he became expert. In high school Rafael became very interested in climate change issues and, as is typical of him, he quickly gained expert knowledge to pass on to any who were interested. Atypical for many millennials he was very interested in politics and was a mine of information about world events. More typical for millennials he had an extensive life in social media with many online friends (some of whom became in-person friends) who knew him primarily by his nickname of “Schan”, derived from his online handle of “Schantrac”. He never married but the love of his life was his girlfriend Emily Cliff who unfortunately passed away after illness eight years ago. There is little doubt that she would have become his wife but for her untimely passing. Always faithful to her memory, Rafael never had another deep relationship.

Rafael is survived by his parents, David and Ruth; sibling, Jhoyse and her children, Dresden, Elara and Leandro, as well as cousins and many relatives on his mother’s side. He was deeply loved by all who knew him and his loss leaves a big hole in many people’s lives.

Rafael led a diverse life and many people knew different aspects of him. Insights below from his mother, father, sister and girlfriend’s mother will give a fuller picture of his life.

Thoughts from his Mother, Ruth

My son and great friend Rafael has left a big hole in my heart.

We have very good memories together with the family. We travelled a lot. We went to Egypt and rode a camel and went inside a pyramid. We went to Norway and saw the northern lights. We went to the place where the trolls come from. We went to Saudi Arabia where he did a lot of snorkeling. He saw a shark, dolphins and a medium size octopus. We traveled many times to Peru, my hometown where he visited one of the new wonders of the world, world famous Machu Picchu.

When we were living in Denmark the family visited the original Legoland. They have an entire town built of Lego with full driving layout. At aged six Rafael passed for his first “Lego” driving license. He never was a very sporty person, He hated PE. I was a little concerned. One night I watched the movie "Looking for Bobby Fischer". That was the beginning of his great enthusiasm for playing chess. We moved to Florida where Rafael participated in many tournaments and ended up with a high rating.

As you can see he has done so many things in his life that I could say that he fulfilled his life. If only he had been able to marry his Emily it would have been complete.

He has left us far too soon. I know he is at peace now.

Thoughts from his Father, David

In addition to being my son, Rafael was a close friend. We would share many texts a day about climate change, politics, IT concepts and many other topics. Even as a very young child he showed keen insights. I will never forget one day when, as a three year old when I was working at home he came out with “Daddy, get back in your study and work on your computer. And I mean work not play!” I was very happy that he chose to follow me into a career in IT consulting although he was far better at it than I ever was.

We shared many nights together over a few beers and, as we both have a keen interest in world news, putting the world to rights. I will be hit by the loss of a close son and friend. Every time I see something in the news my first thought is still – “Must text Rafael about that”. I was always impressed about how much he cared for others and how mature he was for his age. I will miss him terribly for the rest of my life.

Thoughts from his Sister, Jhoyse

My baby brother Rafael was just the most amazing person. The instant my mom brought him home he was mine. I just adored him and because of our age gap we never really argued like siblings. When I had sporting events my friends would always come over to Rafael to say hello. He was just so friendly and was the sweetest little boy. I have so many memories of him playing with our cousins Ivor and Alan. I used to dress the boys up and paint their faces and watch them play with their beloved bunnies.

When Rafael started playing chess I was just in admiration of how good he was. He had such a brilliant mind. I remember talking to Rafael about him taking discrete math in school. We would text when I struggled with my math and he helped me with my basic trigonometry problems in between the odd kitty meme. I've known about his love of cats and so one Christmas I asked a friend if I could ‘borrow’ one of hers so that I may surprise my brother when he came to stay with us. The memory of his face lighting up will remain in my heart.

I’ll never forget when Rafael met my first born. I tried to have him carry him and he fearfully held Dresden like he was a crystal vase. When Dresden showed interest in chess I couldn’t wait for him to play with Rafael and whenever he would see his uncle he always asked for a game. My brother never said no and I will treasure those precious moments. He never knew but, over the years my children have asked so many questions about Rafael. They love him so much. I will forever tell them stories and ensure they remember what a beautiful person he was. Always so kind, so gentle, so bright and so loving. Rest easy baby brother. You will be so missed.

Thoughts from his “Fiancé’s” Mother, Kristi Bott

I first met Schann when he was 16. We were in Ohio visiting Cedar Park, and Emily wanted me to take her to meet him in person. We met up with him at a mall in his hometown. Emmy walked up and hugged him…. and he was just terrified! It was so sweet! He has been part of our lives ever since. He moved to Wisconsin a year after we lost Emily, and we took him in like he was one of our own. He spent many, many weekends over the years hanging out with us…. having bonfires, riding around in one of our Army jeeps, snuggling our kitties and just having good times and good conversations. We had the privilege of attending his US citizenship ceremony; he was so proud to become a citizen of this county! Schanny was kind, thoughtful, funny and oh so smart. You are with Emmy now… we will miss you terribly.