Quenton 'Keith' Gattis' Obituary
Quenton Keith Gattis, age 52 of Nashville, Tennessee, was called home on Sunday April 23, 2023, due to a tractor accident at his home.
Keith was born on May 26, 1970, in Georgetown, Texas, to Donny Gattis and Donna Clawson Booth. He graduated high school from Johnson City, TX, where he was a member of the Future Farmers of America (FFA) and took to riding bulls. At 17 years-old, he and his band took home the top prize at the statewide FFA talent contest. Keith was hooked. He began performing around Austin before making the move to Nashville.
Years later, Keith joked that when he moved to Tennessee with $800 in his pocket, he was sure he’d be a star. His early, hardcore honky-tonk was pure tele tone and thick Texas swagger, and when he released his critically acclaimed debut album for RCA Records in 1996, critics cheered.
Keith was a multi-instrumentalist, songwriter, producer, and recording artist of unusual strength. He collaborated with legends, wrote hit songs, and released albums other artists still turn to for guidance, inspiration, and hope.
But that is not why Keith’s life mattered most. When it came to loving his two children McKenzie and DeLaney, wife Penny, family, and friends, he drew from a bottomless well. That is what those who knew him best will miss the most.
Readers of liner notes and telecaster disciples learned Keith’s name well. He toured as guitarist for Johnny Paycheck and served as band leader and producer for Dwight Yoakam. He also produced albums for Waylon Payne, Kendell Marvel, Wade Bowen, Randy Houser, and others, while he played guitar on still more recordings.
Keith moved to Los Angeles in 2001, where his music evolved into roots rock, unashamed of its twang. He connected deeply with the Joshua Tree desert and the musicians who helped him make his critically acclaimed album Big City Blues. As a songwriter, Keith wrote about pain and belief with unnerving tenderness. His “El Cerrito Place,” recorded by Keith himself, Charlie Robison, and later, Kenny Chesney, became a standard. George Jones, Willie Nelson, George Strait, Gary Allan, Allison Moorer, and many more recorded Keith’s songs, too.
Loyal and determined, Keith would do anything for a friend––and he had a lot of them. If you had an impossible job, it was best to put Gattis on it. Practical jobs also came naturally to him, like fixing crooked mailboxes and fishing dead possums out of cohorts’ swimming pools. He was capable, hardworking, and didn’t give up. Making fires at his Pioneertown studio for friends to gather around was one of his favorite ways to pass the time.
Keith met Penny in 2013, and the two married a year later. Friends say Penny was his true love––the one who helped him find real peace and to make a home. After he found Penny, there could never have been anybody else.
Keith and Penny’s kids changed his life. McKenzie loved just being with him––and he loved being with her. They’d ride the 4-wheeler together, and he taught her how to play ukulele. In DeLaney, Keith found a devoted golfing buddy and best friend, determined to go everywhere with him.
Keith will always be loved and remembered for the immeasurable love he gave. He is survived by his wife, Penny Gattis; daughter McKenzie (8) and son DeLaney (4); his mother Donna (Robert) Booth; his father Donny (Sharon) Gattis; his siblings Brad (Julie) Booth, Cody (Keisha) Booth, Mike (Bridget) Booth, Rob (Caryn) Booth, Casey (Shayna) Gattis, Knox Gattis, and Lee Ann (Scott) Schumpelt; and many beloved nieces and nephews. Keith was preceded in death by his best friend Charlie Brocco.
Pallbearers will be Casey Gattis, Brad Booth, Cody Booth, Mike Booth, Rob Booth, Tucker Booth, Dalton Everhard, and Robert Everhard. Honorary pallbearers are Jamey Johnson and Blake Harris. In lieu of flowers a GoFundMe page has been set up for the family.
The Celebration of Life will take place Sunday, April 30 at the Spring Hill Funeral Home and Cemetery at 5110 Gallatin Pike South in Nashville. Visitation will be from 11-2 p.m. with a service immediately following.
To view the livestreamed service, please click the link here: https://webcast.funeralvue.com/events/viewer/87544
Arrangements entrusted to Spring Hill Funeral Home and Cemetery, "Where Nashville Comes to Remember."
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