Jim Bob Key

July 5, 1932 — May 23, 2023

The entire 2023-2024 Symphony Season is dedicated to the memory and legacy of Jim Bob Key.

Jim Bob was a Winnfield native and lifetime resident of Natchitoches, who passed away on Tuesday, May 23, 2023, at his Natchitoches home on the banks of the Cane River. 

Mr. Key was born on July 5, 1932, to Corinne and James Key.  He graduated from Winnfield High School in 1950 and earned the Bachelor of Arts degree in art and interior design from Northwestern State University in 1954.  A lifetime music enthusiast, he played percussion in the NSU Band and timpani in the Northwestern Symphony Orchestra.  He was a member of the Gamma Rho chapter of Phi Mu Alpha Symphonia. 

 In 1955 he married the former Betty Sue Choate, and as a newlywed husband he served in the U.S. Navy from 1955-1957.  Upon return to Natchitoches in 1957, he joined the family business, Choate’s Interiors, and in 1960 he and Betty Sue purchased the business and operated it until it closed in 2017.   

Key played a great role in the founding of the Natchitoches-Northwestern Symphony Society (NNSS), where he served as its second president (1968-1969) and thereafter a lifetime member of its board of directors.  He served on the National Council of the Metropolitan Opera and the regional boards of the Shreveport Symphony and Shreveport Opera.  He was a member of the Louisiana State Arts Council, which founded the Louisiana Outdoor Drama Association amphitheater located at Grand Ecore.   He was inducted in the NSU Creative and Performing Arts Hall of Fame in 2014 and selected a Natchitoches Treasure in 2015. 

 He was a former president of the Natchitoches Rotary Club, served on the state board of directors of the Louisiana Mental Health Association, and was a member of the board of directors of the Natchitoches Historic Foundation.