Jill and John Keating

As John and Jill Keating celebrated their wedding anniversary Sept. 6, the Mayville couple recalled a whirlwind of 50 memorable years. A chance meeting on a bridge in Pittsburgh brought together a journalism student from Bradford, Pennsylvania and a ballerina from Ann Arbor, Michigan.

John had just returned to Point Park University from a semester abroad in Lugano, Switzerland when Jill arrived at the college, having spent the prior year aspiring to become the next Carol Burnett at an acting school in San Diego, California. Two parallel careers moved in tandem for the duration of their early relationship. John encouraged Jill to audition at Chautauqua Institution where she received the National Federation of Music Clubs’ Scholarship for Ballet. For many summers, she had the privilege to dance and work with professionals including Statia Sublette, Violette Verdy, Jean-Pierre Bonnefoux and Patricia McBride.

Thinking he would become the next Dan Rather or Tom Brokaw, John held positions at what were the three largest newspaper chains in the U.S. at the time: the Meadville Tribune (Thomson Newspapers), New Kensington’s Valley News Dispatch (Gannett) and The Philadelphia Inquirer (Knight Ridder).

Twice in their marriage, the Keatings relocated to a different region of the country without jobs or income, but they were always able to find their footing. John took a job with a local newspaper in Rhode Island while Jill began her musical theatre career, performing in Chicago and Grease at Tommy Brent’s Theatre-By-The-Sea in Matunuck and sharing the stage with Tony award-winner Michael McGrath (Nice Work If You Can Get It).

After relocating to Newtown, Pennsylvania, Jill delighted audiences as Miss Hannigan in Annie at the Bucks County Playhouse in New Hope and performed summer stock revues in Morgantown, West Virginia with Carol Lawrence (West Side Story) and Dean Jones (Company). After the summer of 1985, John and Jill rented a U-Haul and drove, again unemployed and with no source of income, this time to Brooklyn, New York.

John left the newspaper business to start a theatre and writing career for himself at the off-Broadway theater Playwrights Horizons (Sunday in the Park with George, Into the Woods, Once on This Island, and Assassins), and Jill established herself as a triple threat (an actor who can sing and dance), joining the Broadway tour of Roger Miller’s Big River.

After a decade in the Big Apple, the couple chose to return “home” to Mayville where they stayed active in the performing arts while raising a family.

Jill performed several shows in the area (Shirley Valentine and Pete ‘n Keely), and for the last 35 years, her dance studio “Pointe Chautauqua Dance!” allowed her to share her expertise and love of dance to hundreds of young students from the surrounding school districts. John pivoted and forged yet another career path for himself. For 20 years, he taught English and history at Sherman Central School and is now an Adjunct Instructor in the English department at Jamestown Community College.

The City of Pittsburgh became the couple’s second home, commuting regularly so Jill could continue her career with performances at the Pittsburgh Civic Light Opera (Damn Yankees), Pittsburgh Playhouse (Souvenir), and Pittsburgh Irish Classic Theater (Jane Eyre). John produced several new plays and musicals with local composers and playwrights, including two of his own original works, Mistress and Just Beyond Balboa.

The couple’s daughter, Joni, graduated from Chautauqua Lake Central School and received her bachelor’s and master’s degrees from the University of Pittsburgh. She is a Licensed Professional Counselor and National Certified Counselor working as a mental health therapist in Pittsburgh, where she lives with her husband.

Since 1990, John and Jill have resided in Mayville. To enjoy another view of Chautauqua Lake, they rented a lakeside property in Bemus Point, and family and friends joined them for a week-long celebration.