Keith Alfred "Kabby" Braaten Sr., 67, Minot died on Saturday, May 2, 2015 in a Minot hospital with his loving family by his side following a courageous two year battle with pancreatic cancer.

Keith was born on January 30, 1948 in Rugby, ND to Alfred and Margaret (Sieber) Braaten. He was reared there and in Minot where the family moved in 1961. He attended Ramstad Junior High School and graduated from Minot High School in 1966. While in high school he was employed at Sears.

Keith married Gail Byre on January 12, 1969 at First Presbyterian Church in Minot during a severe winter storm and while Super Bowl III was being played between the Jets and Colts. Keith joined the U.S. Navy in February of 1969 and served aboard the USS MARS AFS-1 during the Vietnam War. It was during this time that their son Keith Jr. was born and Kabby was very proud of the fact that he became a father before Gail became a mother because he was on the opposite side of the International Date Line at the time of the birth. Following his honorable discharge from the U.S. Navy in 1974 he returned to Minot where he was employed by a local courier service whose name changed several times. Eventually, he owned and operated Kabby's Courier Service from 2000-2005. Most recently, he was employed as a hunting and fishing salesman and in the Shipping and Receiving Department at Scheel's before he retired in 2013.

Kabby was a member and President of the Happy Hooker's Fishing Club where he was an integral part of stocking small mouth bass as well as placing tree reefs and increasing the motor size limit at Lake Darling. He especially enjoyed fishing, hunting, golf, softball and hockey, but his passion was watching his grandchildren's activities.

Kabby's loving family includes his wife of 46 years Gail; children: Keith Braaten Jr., Kevin (Dayne) Braaten and Kami (Mark) Espe all of Minot; grandchildren: Samantha, KC and Kross Braaten, Karley Feist, and Hailey, Isabella and Kayla Espe; sisters: Marcheta (Shelby) Holmly of Carlsbad CA and Diane (Dwayne) Graber of Wolford; in-laws: Paul (Phyllis) Byre of Spokane WA, Sharon Munyer of Rugby, Louise (Dave) Osterman of Monarch MT and Donna Coffin of Minot and numerous nieces, nephews and cousins.

Keith was preceded in death by his parents and and grandparents.

Celebration of the Life of Keith Braaten Sr.: Friday, May 8, 2015 at 2:00 p.m. in Vincent United Methodist Church - Minot.
Visitation: Thursday from 3:00 p.m. until 6:00 p.m. in Thomas Family Funeral Home - Minot.