Keith was born on April 29, 1923, in Montezuma, Iowa. Beginning in his early years, Keith developed a passion for aviation. Keith made his first solo flight in Grinnell, Iowa when he was eighteen years old. He was accepted into Iowa State College in the fall of 1940 to study aeronautical engineering, but dropped out during his sophomore year after he acquired co-ownership of a Piper J-3 Cub. This decision led Keith to pursue his Commercial Pilots License with Instructor rating so he could become a military pilot.

Keith briefly trained in the Army Air Corps at Kelly Field, San Antonio, Texas. However, he decided to leave the Army Air Corps and instead received his Navy commission on November 27, 1942. He reported to NAS, Corpus Christi, Texas for flight training, and he became a Naval Aviator in the spring of 1943. Keith became a flight instructor at NAS Ottumwa, Iowa, instructing in the N2S Boeing-Stearman.

After World War II, Keith decided to retain his reserve commission and be released to inactive duty and civilian aviation. Keith was recalled to active duty in June 1950 when the Korean War began and reported to FASRON 7, based at NAS North Island, San Diego, CA. He remained in the Navy after the Korean War, and received orders to VR-5, a large navy air transport squadron, flying the Douglas DC-6 at NAS, Moffet Field, near San Francisco. From 1958-1960, Keith attended Naval Postgraduate School in Monterey, California. He then went to the Naval War College at Newport, Rhode Island.

The highlight of Keith's naval aviation career occurred between 1968 and 1970. Keith was authorized command of VP-10, a naval air squadron flying the Lockheed P3A Orion out of NAS, Brunswick, Maine. Subsequent orders included a deep draft command of the USS Chipola out of Honolulu during the Vietnam War.

Following his retirement from the Navy, Keith attended USC, and received his Masters in Aerospace Systems Management. Additionally, Keith joined the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) based in Montreal, Canada, which was founded only in 1944. With the advances in aviation and the increasing popularity of international oversea air travel, international agreements were necessary to facilitate the safety, efficiency, and regularity of this travel. Currently, the international aviation treaty that was ICAO's starting point has been ratified by over 160 nations worldwide. Keith was Chief of Operations and Air Worthiness for ICAO from 1973 until 1984. Keith was responsible for creating and developing international standards and practices governing all civil air transport and general aviation operations.

Following Keith’s retirement in 1984, he continued his interest in aviation by volunteering at the San Diego Aerospace Museum through several capacities. He was a chairman of the Exhibits and Accessions Committee and Vice President on the Board of Directors. He was especially committed to the advancement of science education and careers for young adults. Keith was also a lifelong member of the Daedalians.

Keith Woods Sharer, 89, of Coronado, California, passed away on October 15, 2012.

Link to the Collection's Descriptive Finding Guide.