Thelma Keane
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March 15, 1926
Thelma Keane | |
|---|---|
 Thelma Keane at her office desk in 1967 | |
| Born | Thelma Carne March 15, 1926 |
| Died | May 23, 2008 (aged 82) Paradise Valley, Arizona, U.S. |
| Occupation(s) | Businessperson and business manager |
| Spouse | |
| Children | 5, including Glen and Jeff |
| Relatives | Claire Keane (granddaughter) |
Thelma "Thel" Keane (née Carne; March 15, 1926 – May 23, 2008) was the Australian-born American wife of The Family Circus newspaper cartoonist, Bil Keane. Keane served as her husband's inspiration and model for the "Mommy" character in his long-running comic strip[1] and was instrumental in restoring the copyrights for The Family Circus to her husband.[2]
Keane was born Thelma Carne in Gympie, Queensland, Australia, in 1926.[2] Her father was a banana farmer.[2] For much of her early childhood, Carne lived in a four-room canvas tent within the borders of the Amamoor Forest Reserve while her father worked on a local reforestation project.[2] She lived with relatives in Gympie while in high school and returned home to her family on the weekends.[2]
Personal life
Thelma Carne met her future husband, Bil Keane, an American, while working in the United States war bonds office in Brisbane, Australia, during World War II.[1] Bil Keane was a United States Army promotional artist who drew posters and flyers for the war effort.[3] Thelma had been hired as an accounting secretary for the office.[1] Their desks and workstations were next to each other.[3] Cartoonist Bil Keane later spoke of meeting Thelma in the office saying, "Thel was a very pretty 18-year-old with a gorgeous figure, long brown hair and I just happened to have a desk drawing next to her and I got the nerve to ask her out. We started laughing then and never stopped."[3][4]
Thelma and Bil were married in 1948.[1] She moved from Australia to her husband's hometown of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania and eventually settled in the suburb of Roslyn, Pennsylvania.[1] The couple had five children between 1949 and 1958.[1][2] Thelma, her husband and their children moved to Paradise Valley, Arizona in 1959.[3] They owned a second residence in Laguna Beach, California.[5] The family was Catholic.
