The impact that Kim Keene made during her 55 years can be felt in the number of people she leaves behind to mourn her death.
The founder and former owner of The Starving Artist, a Norfolk café on North Colley Avenue, and creator of nonprofit Paint Pink, died Sept. 16 after a battle that began seven years ago with breast cancer.
Keene’s cancer returned as stage 4 metastatic in 2022, the same year she sold the café. She started Paint Pink in June 2023. Her dying wish was that the nonprofit continue helping residents through their cancer journeys long after she was gone.
Friends and Paint Pink colleagues told Keene her legacy will live on through the organization she selflessly created to help other cancer patients by providing services not covered by insurance, such as house cleaning, meal delivery, legal fees and bill payments. Fundraising events to support the nonprofit are planned during October for Breast Cancer Awareness Month.
And Keene’s heart will also live on through her artwork, shared memories and photos highlighting her radiant smile.
Raised in Portsmouth and a graduate of Virginia Wesleyan, Keene spent time living on the Outer Banks and in Croatia before making her home on Norfolk’s Willoughby Spit with her partner, Nicole Carry. In addition to her partner, Keene is survived by her sons, Reed and Kurt Woods; mother, June Holt Keene; sister, Kathy Keene; and circles of friends spanning Hampton Roads and the globe.
For more information about Paint Pink, visit paintpinkinc.org.
Sandra J. Pennecke, 757-652-5836, sandra.pennecke@pilotonline.com
