When you hear of a Diaper Dandy, you typically think of an exceptional young person, perhaps still in their teens, brimming with potential and intensity.
You certainly wouldn’t conjure up the image of an 89-year-old man delivering over 200,000 diapers, and inspiring hundreds of others to quietly and faithfully serve, but that’s how Grace often arrives: Unsuspected, unexpected, disguised in everyday occurrences that offer opportunities to honor and act on those familiar words uttered on Sundays in churches everywhere.
“Go to your parish,” Frank Keegan, said one day recently. “Ask the pastor where you’re needed. You don’t have to do everything. Just do something. That’s how the world changes.”
A member of St. Patrick Parish in Malvern, and a fourth-degree member of the Knights of Columbus, Keegan did more than just raise his hand when a fellow parishioner called to ask if he could help deliver diapers to families in need. He raised awareness, raised funds, and started a movement.
Since 2018, he has helped collect and deliver more than 211,000 diapers to the Patrician Society, a Catholic food and social service organization that supports families in Norristown. The Patrician Society is located at St. Patrick Church in Norristown, the sister church to its namesake in Malvern.
While 211,000 diapers are significant by any measure, Keegan’s goal is a quarter million by the end of next year. He will be 90 then.
“It’s ambitious,” he said, “but if you don’t ask, you don’t get.”
‘I’ve always loved what I was doing’
Keegan doesn’t just ask. He acts. He walks the aisles of Acme, Target, Wegmans, and GIANT, often bumping into strangers who hand him boxes of diapers — or hundred-dollar bills — with no strings attached. “It’s not just Catholics,” he said. “I’ve had Jewish, Protestant, and Muslim friends pitch in. The need speaks louder than any label. If you’ve ever seen a baby with diaper rash, you know it matters. And every box we give out frees up money for food or clothing. It’s a two-for-one gift.”
That spirit of service traces way back, he said, from his roots in Southwest Philly. The Immaculate Heart of Mary nuns at St. Barnabas Parish and School laid the early foundation. The Christian Brothers at West Catholic High School refined that foundation, instilling the discipline and intellectual rigor that would serve him for decades to come, including force-feeding the Boolean algebra that later triggered a quick promotion to lead programmer on a new supercomputer at Burroughs Corp.
Married for 66 years, he and his wife, Ronnie, raised five children – four boys and a girl. A Boy Scout leader for the last 57 years, his resume reads like a tour through mid-20th-century America: A luggage handler at Eastern Airlines who became ground operations manager at O’Hare International Airport in Chicago. Later, a programmer for Burroughs, a marketing executive, a small business owner, and finally, a consultant.
“They say if you love what you do, you never work a day in your life,” he said. “I’ve never had a job. I’ve always loved what I was doing.”
The path to Burroughs began with a phone call. Every step of his career – except a two-year military stint in his early 20s – has begun with a phone call. He got in at Eastern Airlines that way, jumped to Burroughs after taking a call from a friend who had recommended him for an airline study group.
Keegan was brought on as someone who had worked in multiple departments and knew the industry inside out. He agreed to join on one condition: they would teach him programming and guarantee him a role in that field afterward. They agreed—and within three months, despite having no prior experience, he became the lead programmer on a new supercomputer.
Thank you, Christian Brothers.
Retire and retire again
Keegan eventually moved into marketing at Burroughs and later ran his own insurance and business agency for a decade. Then Pitney Bowes reached out with another opportunity, this time asking him to help overhaul their business model. He was tasked with standardizing operations across 1,200 sites nationwide.
His programming background gave him a unique perspective, especially when he identified reading comprehension as a major workplace challenge. Rather than force employees to rely on dense manuals, he introduced flowcharts to visually guide each position—a change that significantly reduced errors and improved efficiency.
After retiring from Pitney Bowes, another client invited him to switch sides and serve in a consultancy role. He did so for six years before retiring once again—this time, he says, for good.
Keegan’s pastor at St. Patrick Parish in Malvern, Msgr. Joseph P. Duncan, said Keegan is a daily communicant who lives out the lessons of St. Paul in the Second Letter to the Corinthians.
“St. Paul said, the ‘love of Christ urges us on,’” Msgr. Duncan said. “When we come to Mass, we are then meant to put the Mass into practice. That’s what the Knights of Columbus are all about, and Keegan, in a very particular way, does this.
“How many people would think about, you know, collecting diapers? But it is so important for the needs of young moms who are so worried about providing for their babies. So I think everything Frank does, he does for the love of Jesus. He does it because that’s what fills his heart.”
Keegan, in his typical good humor, doesn’t disagree, but he is a bit more practical.
“Well, it’s better to be carrying diapers than wearing them,” he said with a laugh. “And as long as I can do it, I will. God’s given me health, time, and purpose. The rest is up to me.”
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Faces of Hope is a series of stories and videos highlighting the work of those who make the Catholic Church of Philadelphia the greatest force for good in the region. To learn more about a new way forward for the Church of Philadelphia, visit TrustandHope.org. If you know someone you’d like to see featured, please reach out to editor@catholicphilly.com.
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