John (Jack) Keville was born in Leominster, Massachusetts. At the Leominster factories young Jack operated saw machines cutting teeth in celluloid combs, and he later became an active participant in most phases of the expanding industry.

He earned his bachelor of arts degree from Columbia University in 1933, and after a brief stint at the New York Herald Tribune, he returned to Leominster and joined the Plastics Division of Celanese Corp. (then known as Celluloid Corp.) in 1938, eventually achieving the position of assistant general sales manager. In 1964, he joined Standard Pyroxoloid Company in Leominster. From 1964 to 1984, he also served the industry in various sales positions with Brea Chemical Division of Union Oil of California, Ludlow Corp.'s Flexible Plastics Packaging Division, and the Polymer Chemicals Division of W. R. Grace Co.

Recognizing the growing need for educating the public, he "preached and promoted" greater awareness of the many beneficial uses of plastics in daily living. These efforts were highlighted by his radio talk show titled "Salute to the Plastics Industry." In 1976 he and other members of the Pioneer Valley Section of the Society of Plastics Engineers (SPE) began formulating his dream of a National Plastics Museum, realized in 1992, with the opening of the National Plastics Center and Museum in Leominster, where the lecture room was named in his honor. Although the NPC has now closed, its collection continues as part of the Plastics Center at the Syracuse University Library and can be view on this website.

Keville was a member of the Society of Plastics Engineers (SPE) and an associate member of The Society of the Plastics Industry (SPI). He was the founding chairman of the Rigid Plastics Container Committee of the Packaging Institute, a member of the Plastics Pioneers Association and served on the Board of the Plastics Academy. Keville was inducted into the Plastics Hall of Fame in 1994.

see:

http://www.plasticshalloffame.com/articles.php?articleId=82

Keville, John J. "The history of plastics in Leominster," Industry, 33:10 (July 1968), 15-16.

Newsletter, National Plastics Center & Museum, vol, no. 6.