published in the San Francisco Chronicle 18 October 2024

Howard Keylor Obituary
(6 December 1925 - 5 October 2024)

Howard C. Keylor, long time Bay Area Political activist and retired San Francisco longshore militant passed away peacefully on October 5, 2024. He is survived by his three daughters from his first marriage, Lynn Keylor and Gale Keylor Oakes of California and Aloha Keylor of Maryland, two grandchildren, Jeremiah and Miles, his adopted son, Simon Keylor, and his partner, Ursula von der Decken, and her daughter from her first marriage, Daphne von der Decken. He was a long-time resident of Alameda County and for the last several years he resided in Marin County where he was lovingly cared for by his youngest daughter, Gale and his dear friend and comrade, Henry Johnson.

Howard was born on December 6, 1925, in Lowell, Ohio. After graduating from Marietta High School in 1944, he entered the US Army where he served in the Pacific including on Okinawa. Upon returning from WWII, his firsthand experiences of the conditions of working people combined with his strong passion for social justice led him to become a supporter of the Communist Party in the Stockton area in the late 1940s. When he moved to the San Francisco Bay Area, he was won over to Trotskyism and put revolutionary theory into practice on the waterfront. With a conviction in the power of the working class to change the world and as a longtime member of ILWU Local 10, he organized and worked in a rank-and-file caucus with the goal of establishing a class struggle leadership. As a militant worker-leader he frequently served as an elected member of the Executive Board and played a key role in actions such as the longshore boycott of Chilean cargo in the 1970s and the anti-apartheid boycotts in the 1980s. He will be missed by his family and his many comrades and friends.

Thank you for this Jack. Much respect and honor to Howard.
Gloria La Riva

Our Sincere Condolences For A Life Well- Lived! Please know that our prayers are with Howard and his Family.
ILA 273

He was a good comrade, even though we saw things slightly differently (me an anarcho-syndicalist, he a Bolshevik). He will be missed and impossible to replace. I'm an agnostic, but I'd have him keep raising hell in the great beyond.
Steve Ongerth

One of the last times I saw him and spent a lot of hours with him, was at Elazar Friedman’s girlfriend’s apartment and we of course, talked politics and did trade stories. Even though he was very serious, when we talked he would tell me something funny and made me laugh. He just entered immortality and will be missed.

Rest in revolution, dear comrade Bolshevik.
Ricardo Ortiz

Hi Jack, Thank you for sending on this obituary of this wonderful working class militant. In a world filled with “Labor Fakers” and opportunists, Howard chose the hard path of honesty and militancy. It has been written before but truly Howard was a bright star in a dark night.

A life well lived!

Your mate and comrade
Bob Carnegie

Tx Jack H for sending this out ! This must be one of the most Left Obits that ever appeared in the SF Chron.! Anyway HK was one of the most principled and consistent Labor Socialists that I have ever met.
Stan Woods