Keith C. Hersh

Keith C. Hersh, 63, of Reading, Massachusetts, passed away on August 5, 2016, after a long illness.

In addition to his career as a software engineer, Keith participated in many community activities. He was a highly accomplished musician, trained first as a classical pianist. For thirty years he played the flute and piccolo with the Middlesex Concert Band, and particularly enjoyed playing in summer outdoor concerts. Keith was active in Reading’s Boy Scout Troop 702, where he enjoyed many hiking and camping trips, acted as a merit badge counselor, and became the father of two Eagle Scouts. Keith was an avid amateur botanist and astronomer and found joy in identifying native New England wildflowers and trees, and observing the stars and planets. Since his college years Keith was involved with progressive politics, with a particular interest in social justice issues. For many years he stood with the Reading People for Peace on the Reading Common on Saturday mornings in protest of the Iraq war.

Keith studied Physics as an undergraduate at MIT and later earned a masters degree in Astrophysics from the University of Massachusetts in Amherst. He had a long career as a software engineer specializing in cyber security. In the 1980s and 1990s he worked for Burroughs/Unisys, Wang Labs, Digital Equipment Corporation, and Fidelity Investments. Later he joined start-up companies including Netegrity and NTRU Cryptosystems. In his last position, at Suffolk University, he worked on network security.

Keith was born in Allentown, Pennsylvania, son of June N. (Heist) and the late Charles G. Hersh. Keith is survived by his wife, Patricia Johnston, whom he married in 1987, and two sons, Gerald Johnston Hersh and Karl Johnston Hersh, of Reading MA. He is also survived by his mother, two sisters, Cheryl Hersh and Cynthia Weaver, all of Pennsylvania, and a brother, Joel Hersh of North Carolina.

In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to the Middlesex Concert Band [P.O. Box 128, Wakefield, MA 01880] or Boy Scout Troop 702, [Troop 702,Old South United Methodist Church, 6 Salem St, Reading, MA 01867]. A memorial service will be held August 27 at 1 P.M. in the Unitarian Universalist Church of Reading.