Lloyd Keyser; Retired FBI Agent, Hughes Official

Lloyd E. Keyser of Ojai, a retired FBI special agent who later worked with NASA scientists and engineers on the Apollo moon-landing mission, died Friday of heart failure. He was 81.

Keyser worked for the FBI for about 20 years, after that serving as an administrator for Hughes Aircraft Co. in El Segundo, overseeing several units that worked with NASA on the Apollo program.

When the moon landing finally happened, “he and some of the men watched on television,” said his wife, Jeanne Keyser. “It was a happy day. We were all celebrating.”

Keyser was born in Pennsylvania and grew up there. After graduating high school, he was hired by the FBI to work nights in their fingerprint department in Washington. He worked his way through Benjamin Franklin College and, after graduation, was made an FBI special agent in 1941, his wife said.

He worked for the FBI in Milwaukee, Chicago, Washington and Los Angeles, helping investigate several high-profile cases, his wife said. But most of his time was spent teaching fingerprinting and police techniques to members of local police departments.

After retiring from the FBI, he joined Hughes, where he also worked for 20 years.

He moved 17 years ago to Ojai, where he volunteered as a bookkeeper for the United Methodist Church and a tax preparer at the Little House Senior Center. He also was active in groups for retired FBI agents in Los Angeles and Santa Barbara.

In addition to Jeanne, his wife of 53 years, he leaves two daughters, Ann Erland of Los Angeles and Susan Shaeffer of Irvine; a son, Paul Keyser of Winters, Calif.; and four grandchildren.

A funeral service is scheduled for Monday at 10 a.m. at the United Methodist Church in Ojai.