It is with the heaviest of hearts that we announce the unexpected passing of John Christopher Keys, age 25, of Elizabethtown, Indiana, who left us on November 4, 2025. Born on May 19, 2000, in Winfield, Illinois, John was raised in Wheaton, Illinois. He graduated from Wheaton Warrenville South High School in May 2018 and went on to get a Bachelor of Science in Automotive Technology at Southern Illinois University – Carbondale in May of 2022. After college, John worked as a Mechanical Engineering Technician for Cummins in Columbus, Indiana.

John had a deep love for the outdoors and could often be found hiking through the woods, riding 4-wheelers over muddy trails, or out on the water under an open sky. He also had a lifelong passion for working on anything with an engine – from taking apart a radio-controlled car to working on an old CJ7 Jeep with his dad and late grandpa Keys,or wrenching on a car with his buddies in someone’s driveway.

He is deeply loved and will be forever missed by his parents, Brian and Teresa Keys, and his older sister and brother-in-law, Emily and Leonel Diaz. John is lovingly embraced in heaven by his paternal grandfather, John Keys and is dearly cherished here on earth by his remaining grandparents, Linda Keys and LaVerne and Patricia Schumacher.

Cremation rites have been accorded. A memorial service will be held at 2:30 p.m. on Sunday, November 16, 2025, at St. Paul Lutheran Church in Wheaton, Illinois, with visitation beginning at 12:00 p.m. at the church. A luncheon will follow the service. Private burial of ashes will be held in Oakwood Cemetery in Metamora, Illinois. In lieu of flowers, memorials may be given to the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention or the Northern Illinois Food Bank (see links below).

American Foundation for Suicide Prevention:

https://supporting.afsp.org/campaign/John-Keys--Memorial-Fund

Northern Illinois Food Bank

https://shorturl.at/wbejp