Chuck Kesey, Springfield Creamery co-founder, brother of author Ken Kesey, dies at 87

PORTLAND, Ore. (KOIN) — Chuck Kesey, an Oregon pioneer in the field of probiotic yogurt and co-founder of Springfield Creamery, passed away Thursday at the age of 87.

Kesey was instrumental in launching the natural foods movement more than six decades ago, having grown up in Springfield, where his father managed the Eugene Farmers Creamery.

Kesey then went on to study dairy science at Oregon State University in the 1950s, becoming fascinated with the idea of “beneficial bacteria.”

It was at OSU where he met his wife, Susan Jameson. After marrying in 1960, they opened Springfield Creamery — which initially was only comprised of Chuck, Sue, some friends and a milk truck, just bottling glass jugs for local schools and homes.

In 1970, Kesey made a breakthrough, adding L. acidophilus to honey-sweetened yogurt, creating the first yogurt in the United States containing live probiotics. This gave way to Nancy’s Yogurt and modern probiotics foods overall.

When the business fell on hard times in 1972, Kesey’s older brother Ken Kesey — who wrote “One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest — suggested he reach out to the Grateful Dead for a benefit concert.

Less than a month later, the Grateful Dead performed for them in Veneta, Oregon, and the funds saved the creamery.

Over the years, Kesey was the creamery’s designated “Keeper of the Culture,” always taste-testing each batch of yogurt himself. He also held a wide range of interests and collected rocks, mushrooms, flowers, and other artifacts.

“Our Dad never stopped exploring — his mind was interested in so many pieces of life,” said Sheryl Kesey Thompson, Kesey’s daughter and co-owner of Springfield Creamery. “He believed that real, healthy food could make people’s lives better. That was his true calling, and I think that is what he was most pleased to have had an impact on. He would often remind us, ‘We are not making breakfast. We are making health food, and we are saving lives here.’” 

Kesey was preceded in death by his wife, Sue, in Aug. 2025.

Their family, including children Kit Kesey and Sheryl Kesey-Thompson, as well as grandchildren Taylor, Blake, and Grant Thompson, continue to own and operate the Springfield Creamery.