Michael O'Keefe, 76, jack-of-all-trades

When Michael O'Keefe was growing up in Ireland, he was thebrightest boy in class. When his teacher was absent, he would fillin.

When he emigrated to Chicago to help support his family, hestarted as an elevator operator and ended up known as the man whocould do anyone's job in complicated business installations for thetelephone company.

When he retired at 65, he started remodeling his children's homesand his own, doing everything himself, from plumbing and painting tocarpentry and wiring.

Mr. O'Keefe died Monday night at his home in Park Ridge after along battle with pancreatic cancer. At the time of his death, he wassurrounded by family and had been listening …