Peter was born in Singapore in 1941 and grew up in Reading, UK; he lived most of his adult life in the US but kept his UK citizenship, as he always felt like a Brit.
He was a writer, an academic, a thinker, and a teacher. He studied English literature at Balliol College, Oxford; a love of books and words endured throughout his life. He was a voracious reader, passionate about Shakespeare, and had an incredible vocabulary, which came in handy in Boggle matches with his daughter. He recently discovered the New York Times Spelling Bee and wouldn’t go to bed without getting to Genius.
He was 79 when he passed on Oct. 26.
After graduating with an MBA and Ph.D. at Harvard Business School, he became a professor, a noted international consultant, and a public speaker. He authored more than 30 books on business, information technology, and innovation and was a professor at several business and technological universities, including Harvard, MIT, and Stanford.
In recent years, he focused his writing on his avocation: tea – its history, cultivation, science, and the pleasure of drinking it. He wrote three books about tea and was a Contributing Editor for Tea Journey magazine and Tea Report Editor at STiR magazine.
After a chance meeting on an airplane, Peter was married to his wife, Sherry, for more than 25 years. They loved to travel together, visiting six continents and more than 20 countries and shared a love of animals.
He is survived by his daughter, Sara Keen of Cambridge, MA; his son, Chris Keen of Dublin, Ireland; and his son-in-law, Joaquin Figueroa, of Dublin, Ireland. He was predeceased by his daughter, Lucy. He is also survived by his sisters Patti Budd of the UK, Jenny Bigger of Texas, and Judy Covert of Florida. He will be greatly missed by his father-in-law Bill Richardson and Bill’s wife, Peggy.
Donations can be made in his name to the Cancer Research Institute, or Bat Conservation & Rescue of Virginia, a favorite organization of his.
A celebration of life is being planned in the spring.
— Dan Bolton
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