Porter is Erik's 1st cousin, three times removed

Porter McKeever

by Erik Richard Kelley

Porter McKeever was born to George and Maye McKeever on November the eighth of 1915 in South Dakota. Porter was a brother to Georgia, Shirley and Patrick McKeever. Porter attended Columbia University and later married Susan Lobenstine. Susan was born in Shanghai, China and would later come to New York after attending Smith College. She was the daughter of Reverend / Doctor and Mrs. Lobenstine.

Porter and Susan had four children William, James, Mary and an adopted son Cho-Liang. Porter would grow to be a very influential person in the political world in a behind the scenes way.  The McKeever’s lived in Pelham New York. They were part of the Democratic Party.

Porter is best known for being the right hand man to Adlai Stevenson working as his Communications Director. Adlai Stevenson was credited with helping to form the way politics are today. Adlai was a graduate of Princeton University whom would become the governor of Illinois. With the backing of Harry Truman and the rest of the Democratic Party he would run for the Office of President of the United States .His opponent in the election would be General Dwight D Eisenhower. During the campaign of 1952 he would become known for the way he spoke which was said to be electrifying. Although he would lose the election he was now an American celebrity because he was now remembered for his influential speaking Adlai would run again in 1956 and be defeated by an even larger margin. While all of this was going on McKeever was at his side managing the campaign. Since he had now run for president twice and the respect he had earned from his aptitude of speaking would give him the chance to give eulogies for three of the most powerful politicians of their times, John F Kennedy, Eleanor Roosevelt, and Winston Churchill. Through the accomplishments of Adlai Stevenson we can see that he surrounded himself with intelligent people who could make the right decisions and that much of success was due to the hard work of Porter McKeever, his right hand man.

Porter McKeever’s accomplishments did not end there; some of them were also leading the charge. He co-authored the book Speaking Frankly,  by Mr. Byrnes and then, in 1991 he wrote a book on the life and accomplishments of Adlai Stevenson His life and Legacy.

Porter was an associate of John D. Rockefeller the Third and a close friend. He was the Vice President of the John D Rockefeller the Third fund. Mr. McKeever was also close too the Roosevelt’s and the Kennedy’s.

The greatest accomplishment of Porters career was when he became the first President of the United Nations in 1969. Porter led the organization from 1964 through 1973. He was a very large part in bringing the organization together.  In 1973 he would leave his job as President of the United Nations.

Porter died of cancer on March the 3rd of 1992 at the age of 76. Although he passed away his accomplishments and his legacy will forever be a part of this nation’s history. His ideas his hard work his and his determination is one of many great examples of people who are mostly behind the scenes but hold everything together. His legacy is woven into our country’s fabric like the many fibers that hold our flag together. Although some fibers are bigger and brighter they are all just as important as any other to hold the ideas the power and the history of this great nation.