lit a candle 3h agoMy parents' first house in Wheaton was a Keim build, one of the Danada places from the early 80s. I was born in that house. Didn't know the name until I read this today, but I knew those windows and that floor plan my whole childhood. 94 years, that's a long life to spend building for other people's families.
Their story
Joseph "Joe" A. Keim was a custom homebuilder who shaped the look of Chicago's western suburbs over more than five decades, putting up houses and planning subdivisions in Wheaton, Lisle, Geneva and St. Charles. He died on October 30, 2026, in Wheaton, Illinois, at the age of 94. Keim was…
Joseph "Joe" A. Keim was a custom homebuilder who shaped the look of Chicago's western suburbs over more than five decades, putting up houses and planning subdivisions in Wheaton, Lisle, Geneva and St. Charles. He died on October 30, 2026, in Wheaton, Illinois, at the age of 94.
Keim was born on February 21, 1932, and grew up in Pennsylvania, where he met Helen, the woman who became his wife of 65 years. After serving in the United States Army, the couple moved to Illinois and settled in Wheaton, where Keim lived for 72 years. He started out working as a carpenter before moving into building and development, eventually founding what became Keim Corp, a custom home building company based in Geneva that operated throughout the western suburbs, including Wheaton, Geneva, St. Charles, Lisle, Naperville and surrounding communities. Company materials describe Joe Keim as someone who continued to practice the craft of custom home building from the ground up, combining distinctive styling with functional, open floor plans.
His building career left a lasting physical mark on the region. He was instrumental in developing southern Wheaton, including the Danada area, as well as subdivisions in Geneva and St. Charles. He was also active for many years with the Northern Illinois Builders Association and was known as a strong advocate for the home building industry during that period. The company he founded continued to build custom homes in communities such as Geneva and St. Charles for more than 50 years.
Keim was a longtime member of St. Michael Catholic Church in Wheaton, where he and Helen worshipped together for decades. Helen, who was born in Scranton, Pennsylvania, died in January 2021 at the age of 88, after 65 years of marriage. Joe was also preceded in death by his brother Ed and his sisters Mary and Joyce.
He is survived by his two sons, Joe (Dee) and Jeff, five grandchildren, Matt (Mary Beth), Amanda (Ryan), Lisa (Mark), Meghan (Tom) and John (Jenni), and two great grandchildren, Brooks and Audrey. News of his death prompted tributes from the Wheaton building and real estate community, where he was remembered as one of the figures who helped define the area's residential growth in the second half of the twentieth century.
Funeral arrangements are being handled by Williams-Kampp Funeral Home in Wheaton. Visitation is scheduled for Wednesday, November 4, 2026, from 3 to 8 p.m., with additional visitation on Thursday, November 5, 2026, from 9 a.m. until the funeral Mass at 10 a.m. at St. Michael Church in Wheaton. Burial is set to follow at St. Michael Cemetery in Wheaton.
Biography adapted from News reports and the sources cited on this page; death reported by Chicago Tribune.
Photos
1by People Forever
Danada still has a bunch of his houses standing, good bones on those.