Kathryn V. Palmer

Kay lived her early years in areas of Texas, Oklahoma, and on an Indian Reservation 20 miles north of Albuquerque, New Mexico. Kay was 3 yrs old when her mother (Ressie Williams Crumpton) passed away of an illness. She was 5 yrs old when her dad (John Crumpton) died from being crushed by a two ton cotton bail that was being loaded onto a railroad car. Kay had 3 brothers. Johnnie was 36 yrs old when he died in 1958 as an Electronics Airman for the Air Force, on the infamous SS Gaines Mill, lost in the Bermuda Triangle with 22 men on board, and never found. Jack served in the armed forces, and passed away of a heart attack in 1979 at the age of 52. Ernie served in the Navy, worked most of his life in Upland, CA, at a rock query, and passed away in 2010. At 19 yrs old, Kay hopped on a train to CA for a better life. She entered a nursing program and eventually worked as a telephone operator for the phone company, when she met the man she married, Silas W. Palmer. Si and Kay married on June 4, 1948 in Glendale, CA, and honeymooned at the Hotel Villa Riviera in Long Beach, CA. They lived most of their lives in Glendale, CA until Si retired from Adams Rite Manufacturing, and moved to Atascadero, CA. Very soon thereafter, Si got sick and passed away in 1993 at the age of 73. Kay stayed in the Atascadero area and got involved with a Senior Singles Club in which she enjoyed riding motorcycles with the Harley Davidson Club and flying up and down the Central Coast in a Cessna airplane. 10 years ago, she announced she was moving to Tucson and had a house built. She adored the views of the Catalina Mtns from her backyard, and absolutely loved the desert sky and cactus. Her last 2 years were spent at the La Cholla Country Club for Seniors. She avidly played Bingo, Pinochle and online Poker. She had over 5 million online 'fake' dollars with Poker Stars and treated it like it was gold! The members of the Country Club called her "the roadrunner" because she was always in a hurry to get somewhere. The last 18 days of her life, she brought joy to her housemates at "Via Elegante" with her continuous smile and the twinkle in her blue eyes over eating a "baked potato and chocolate ice cream" for breakfast, lunch and dinner. Kay always worried about everything. Ironically, when it was discovered she had a large tumor on her lung, and confirmed as cancer 29 days later, she showed no fear, no worry. After one chemo treatment, she was given only days to live. She smiled and giggled over the fact she proved them wrong, and lived almost 19 more days. On her last day, she knew definitively her time had come, and that it was her last day on earth. Of clear mind, she stated so, "she was ready", she bravely faced it head on. She asked for her oxygen to be removed, and said several times, "I want to die", and did so peacefully several hours later. She joined God in heaven to never be alone again. She will be missed.