Kealynn Kees

Friends will be received at the funeral home on Sunday March 15th from 1 to 4 PM, with a period of sharing and reflection to begin at 3 PM.

KeaLynn Kees, 56 , of Kingston, New York, died January 23, 2026, at the Health Alliance Hospital in Kingston. KeaLynn died of a cardiac arrest eight days after a successful cranial brain surgery.

KeaLynn was born, August 30, 1969 in Hudson Wisconsin and graduated from University of Wisconsin, Madison in 1995 with a degree in accounting. In college she immersed herself in creative pursuits such as stand up comedy, poetry slams and writing workshops. She moved to Chicago in her late 20s to pursue stand up comedy and study at Second City. She was starting to build a career as a standup and comedic poet in Chicago when not shortly after, KeaLynn was discovered to have an astrocytoma, an aggressive, fast growing brain tumor. This could've claimed her life but she was in her words "very lucky" as they were able to remove the whole tumor.  She struggled emotionally & cognitively for a couple of years but before long was back to it! She was hosting all kinds of open mics and becoming an important part of the local comedy and poetry scene, appearing in  local magazines and newspapers.

She went to New York to as she would say to "live her best life." It was in New York with the help of SSDI , that she continued to hone her writing, now concentrating on fiction. She wrote books, short stories, and refined her poetry. And she always found work part time in accounting. Having suffered as much as she had in her illness, she was also almost always in pain, pain that doctors did not know how to diagnose. Too much activity, too much exertion would tire her out and she would need to rest. But in this deep physical pain, KeaLynn was constantly finding ways to a spiritual "peace and love" place, transforming her pain with prayer and meditation, always searching she involved herself in the communities of Christian Science, Zen Buddhism, Sivananda Yoga, and spiritual self help groups, two of which she wrote literature for that allowed people incredible transformations. She took her creativity a step further in Kingston where she moved to in 2018. She made digital art and paired her work with her insightful writing. She sold greeting cards in Woodstock and had an art show at the local YWCA in 2023. Volunteering in the local community and building accounting systems for non-profits, she was a giver.

Her time spent learning how to heal herself healed so many. KeaLynn often talked about how wonderful her life was, how much gratitude she had, how amazing the simplest joy could be. She had a light high voice and was petite with a flash of bright red henna-ed hair (some of it fake). She was your most loyal, encouraging friend and also your most honest, truthful friend. And of course, she was hilarious and witty. Her presence lit up a room. Her dark painful story brought forth the most beautiful light and inspired us all. She is survived by her mother Mary Kees of River Falls, WI and her brother Ian Kees and niece Marin of Minneapolis and a plethora of friends for whom she was like family.

In lieu of flowers, please send plants, KeaLynn's favorite.