Harrison County
Jerry O'Keefe of Biloxi holds a photograph in June 2007 of him receiving medals for his exploits as a Marine pilot during World War II.
TIM ISBELL
TTIsbell@sunherald.com File
Jerry O'Keefe serves as the Grand Marshall of the Hibernia Society St. Patrick's Day Parade in 1981.
Bill Elmore
Sun Herald File
Jerry O'Keefe, left, and Biloxi Mayor A. J. Holloway had plenty to applaud Saturday at the Ohr-O'Keefe Museum of Art's 'The Dance Begins' celebration at the museum grounds in Biloxi in December 2007.
JOHN FITZHUGH
jcfitzhugh@sunherald.com File
Janie O'Keefe, from left, Susan O'Keefe-Snyder, Jim O'Keefe, Martha and Jerry O'Keefe and Joseph and Virginia O'Keefe during the VIP preview party at the Ohr-O'Keefe Museum of Art in Biloxi in November 2010.
JOHN FITZHUGH
jcfitzhugh@sunherald.com File
Jerry O'Keefe celebrates his Biloxi mayoral election in May 1977.
Bill Elmore
Sun Herald File
A young Jerry O'Keefe sits in his F4U Corsair. The seven Japanese flags on the plane stand for the number of kills O'Keefe had during World War II.
Sun Herald File
Jerry O'Keefe was the subject of the History Channel's program Dogfights in 2007. The Biloxi native flew F4U Corsair fighters and became an ace after shooting down five enemy planes in one encounter.
TIM ISBELL
TTIsbell@sunherald.com File
Jerry O'Keefe talks about his exploits as a fighter pilot during World War II at his Biloxi home in June 2007.
TIM ISBELL
TTIsbell@sunherald.com File
Jerry O'Keefe's medals he received for his services in World War II.
TIM ISBELL
TTIsbell@sunherald.com File
Jerry O'Keefe is presented his medals after World War II while serving in New Orleans.
Sun Herald File
Former mayor and philanthropist Jerry O'Keefe and then-George Ohr Museum director Marjie Gowdy pose with one of Ohr's works in October 1998. A new museum, the Ohr-O'Keefe Museums of Art was built in Biloxi to replace the original Ohr Museum.
ALLISON LONG
Sun Herald File
Then Biloxi Mayor Jerry O'Keefe, left, and future mayor Gerald Blessey, right in January 1977.
Sun Herald File
Jerry O'Keefe talks in June 2007 about how he maneuvered his plane into position to make five kills near Okinawa during World War II.
TIM ISBELL
TTIsbell@sunherald.com File
Jerry O'Keefe talks in June 2007 about how he maneuvered his plane into position to make five kills near Okinawa during World War II.
TIM ISBELL
TTIsbell@sunherald.com File
Jerry O'Keefe stands beside a replica of a Vought F4UD-1D Corsair at Atlantic Aviation in Gulfport in February 2011. O'Keefe, a World War II ace, flew a Corsair while in the Pacific, shooting down seven Japanese planes.
TIM ISBELL
TTIsbell@sunherald.com File
Jerry O'Keefe, a WWII ace, looks north in an effort to see a P-51 Mustang and F4U-1D Corsair arrive at Atlantic Aviation in Gulfport in February 2011.
TIM ISBELL
TTIsbell@sunherald.com File
Pilot Mike Schiffer meets Jerry O'Keefe after flying a Corsair to Atlantic Aviation in Gulfport in February 2011. O'Keefe is a WWII ace having shot down seven Japanese planes while flying a Corsair.
TIM ISBELL
TTIsbell@sunherald.com File
Jerry and Martha O'Keefe enjoy the comfort of their sitting room adjacent to their bedroom in February 2002. The room allows them time to watch the beach or see the sun rise.
TIM ISBELL
TTIsbell@sunherald.com File
Jerry and Martha O'Keefe enjoy the comfort of their sitting room adjacent to their bedroom in February 2002. The room allows them time to watch the beach or see the sun rise.
TIM ISBELL
TTIsbell@sunherald.com File
Martha and Jerry O'Keefe watch the unveiling of Gretchen David's 'Mural of Genorosity' in April 2013.
TIM ISBELL
TTIsbell@sunherald.com File
Jerry O'Keefe, former Biloxi mayor and World War II Marine Corp fighter pilot.
TIM ISBELL
TTIsbell@sunherald.com File
Jerry O'Keefe waves to the large crowd of family, friends and officials who gathered at the Bradford O'Keefe Funeral Home in Ocean Springs to witness his receiving of the Congressional Gold Medal on Friday, June 5, 2015. The Congressional Gold Medal is the highest honor given by the U.S. Congress to a civilian. O'Keefe received it for his service in the Marine Corps as a fighter pilot ace during World War II.
AMANDA McCOY
amccoy@sunherald.com File
World War II veterans Jerry O'Keefe, from left, Joe Webb and Richard Zinn listen in August 2000 at the Ohr-O'Keefe Museums of Art in Biloxi as fellow veteran Irene Matthew recounts tales from her military days. The four were part of a program of WWII participants to draw attention to the current exhibit at the museum 'Drawn On the Line: Artists of WWII.'
JOHN FITZHUGH
jcfitzhugh@sunherald.com File
Retired Lt. Gen. George Axtel listens as Jerry O'Keefe, left, recalls his first combat against Japanese pilots, when he shot down down 5 planes in 24 minutes.
DAVID PURDY
Sun Herald File
Harrison County District Attorney Cono Caranna, left, presents Jerry O’Keefe with the YMCA Humanitarian Award in October 2010 for O'Keefe's lifetime contributions, achievements and dedication to the YMCA and the community.
Sun Herald File
Jerry O'Keefe recalls during an interview in October 2000 the 'Irish engineering' he used to secure funds for projects in Biloxi during his two terms as mayor in the 1970's and 80's.
Sun Herald File
Jerry O'Keefe stands in front of the family home place in Ocean Springs, a Coast historical landmark that also serves as a funeral home. The family's roots in Ocean Springs go back to the 1840's.
JAMES EDWARD BATES
Sun Herald File
Architect Frank Gehry, left, and Jerry O'Keefe talk in November 2010 during the VIP preview party at the Ohr-O'Keefe Museum of Art in Biloxi.
JOHN FITZHUGH
jcfitzhugh@sunherald.com File
Carol Carpenter with Jerry and Martha O'Keefe at the 8th annual George Ohr Gala in November 2009.
Sun Herald File
WWII vets Jerry O'Keefe, left, and Boyce Holliman after the Third annual National Veterans Parade on U.S. 90 in Biloxi in November 2002.
JOHN FITZHUGH
jcfitzhugh@sunherald.com File
Then State Rep. Jerry O'Keefe, third from left, watches as Governor Ross Barnett signs the legislation creating the Mississippi Gulf Coast Junior College District, the state's first multi-campus junior college in 1962. Seated to the governor's right is J. J. Hayden, who became president of Mississippi Gulf Coast Junior College. Others standing from left are Representative Karl Wiesenburg (Jackson County), Senator Hudie Pitts (George County), Representative Roy Strickland (StoneCounty), Representative and MGCJC Board of Trustees Chairman M. L. Malone (George County), and Senator Stanford Morse (Harrison County).
Sun Herald File
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