Keith G. Cantine, Sr. was born March 1, 1908 and grew up in Memphis, Michigan. Although his father wanted Keith to join him in barn building, Keith Cantine had another dream. He left home before he finished high school, and his mother sent him money so he could learn to be an auto mechanic. After being an auto mechanic for some time, he had accumulated enough money to pursue his dream of learning to fly. Although he never finished high school, he was a lifelong learner in flying, avionics, air navigation, and related areas.
After learning to fly, he brought an airplane and traveled to air shows at county fairs and other venues. He and his partner offered plane rides to the public for a few cents. During these years, he had a Waco Eagle and a Ford Tri-Motor. When his business slowed during the Great Depression, he joined Pennsylvania Central Airlines. After mergers, he flew for Capitol Airlines and then United Airlines. He retired from United in 1968. Following this retirement, he worked for the Federal Aviation Agency as an aviation operations inspector until his second retirement over a decade later.
During World War II, he served in the United States Army Air Force. For most of the war he shuttled airplanes from the United States to the various theatres of war. During the last six months of the war, he was a military test pilot for the Lockheed Constellation. He also worked on the P-66 project, the first US jet.
Keith Cantine's major loves in his life were his wife, Irene McCabe Cantine; his sons, Keith and Chris; and flying. He died in 1994 a few days after turning 86.