5 /5 Thomas McElroy: Keyte Family Service at Fifth & Broadway: The Salvation Army in Quincy, 1924–Present
In 1924, Thomas Leonard Keyte and Mary Ivy (Attey) Keyte were married in the Salvation Army’s first permanent Quincy headquarters, a small stone church at Fifth and Broadway built after the Army secured the property in 1920.
During the Great Depression, Thomas worked on the construction of the Quincy Memorial Bridge (1928–1930) while Mary Ivy — dressed in the Army’s traditional cape and bonnet — collected pennies in Quincy taverns and bars. In those days, a penny could buy a meal, and her efforts helped sustain the ministry through its hardest years.
Their son, Jack Keyte, later became Central Division Commander of the Salvation Army, serving in many cities across the central United States. He is buried in the honor section in Chicago among senior Salvation Army officers.
Other family members also carried forward this legacy of service, including Paul Warner, “The Singing Sergeant,” whose deep voice carried the gospel in song, and Donna Keyte, a devoted aunt who continued the family’s tradition of faith.
The Keyte family’s devotion and sacrifice — from the bridge to the taverns, from the pulpit to the stage — helped build the foundation of the Salvation Army in Quincy, a legacy that lives on today in the modern Croc Center.
