Birth date: Feb 18, 1954 Death date: Jun 27, 2018
Mary “Kay” Kemerling Koenig, 64, of Hartville, Missouri, was born February 18, 1954 to Kenny and Joan (Morgan) Kemerling at Fairfax Missouri and departed this life June 27, 2018, at Cox Hospital in Springfield, Missouri On June 17 Read Obituary
Erin, I am sorry for your loss. I didn't realize your mother was sick. Please keep your trust in the Lord for your comfort. He will help you through the hard times. Hope to see you back at church again soon. Love you, Erin!
So sorry for your loss DeWayne. Keeping you and your family in our thoughts and prayers. Love, Ron and Kay Deatz
Kay will be sadly missed, we always had a strawberry shortcake joke, no matter whose house we were at. Subby said kay's going to get her shortcake-which turned out at time to be strawberry ice cream on on near a piece of cake But she got her truly shortcake. You will always be in our memories of the times shared with each other and you were such a trooper. You are at peace now and no more pain. We will take care of your family which is a part of ours. God Bless you sister.
Sebastian (Subby) and Dorothy Lombardo
Mary you will be dearly missed, hugs to your family from your Outpatient Oncology dept (ste240) family... may you rest in peace dear friend...
Kay lived a couple blocks from me and I spent a lot of time at her house. Her mom's purse was always available for sneaking a nickel for corn candy at the dime store. We ate a lot of corn candy and did a lot of hanging out "uptown." Back when Tarkio still bustling.
For some reason beyond my comprehension, Kay's family sheets were available when we had the urge to sew something. One Halloween we made a horse costume and Kay consented to being the back end and had to trick-or-treat all over town bent over while I got to stand up as the front end and complain that she wasn't keeping up.
We drew in the dirt on the sidewalk in front of her house, we climbed the big tree in her front yard, and climbed up onto the roof from the upstairs renters' porch. The magnolia tree was off-limits.
We heard that ceramic pottery was just clay that had been cooked so we made pots out of mud and sun-dried them extensively. They never became pottery.
She and I "adopted" a little dog that probably belonged to somebody in the neighborhood, but we considered him ours and called him Pedro.
She was game for just about anything--as long as I went home before her father got home. Kay never talked much, but she listened a lot. She never took sides in any of my teenage drama.
We had hope chests back then, collections for when we got married. Kay's glasses were monogrammed KK for Kay Kemerling and she was determined to marry a blonde-haired, blue-eyed boy with the same initials. When she met DeWayne she said if they were still going together on Valentine's Day he'd give her an engagement ring. I thought she was crazy but they were, and he did. They just celebrated their 46th anniversary.
Kay's birthday and my mother's were one day apart. Her wedding and mine were a year and a day apart, and there have been years that I don't remember which day is her anniversary and which is mine.
I moved to Seattle and we had to have the time and the money at the same time to come back to Tarkio so it didn't happen very often. One early visit, Kay brought Chris along, a little blonde, curly-haired toddler, and I was smitten. I never got to meet Erin, but I heard about her. Kay and DeWayne bragged up their kids, and never had a bad word to say.
Years went by, and Kay called me--must have been the first time ever. She didn't like to talk on the phone. (And for somebody who worked at the post office, she didn't seem to have a clue how to write a letter, either.) She wanted to tell me she had cancer, and not to tell my mom because she didn't want her mom to know.
With cell phones came texting, something we did on rare occasions to say happy birthday and happy anniversary. I let her know that I was coming back to take care of Mom when she had knee-replacement surgery, and Kay drove up to spend a few days at the Big T so she could visit me. I suspect that some of the time she was pretty sick and she couldn't really afford the trip but she downplayed it as usual. She even drove me to the airport. I was blown away that she'd go to all that expense and effort just for me.
In January I was in Tarkio taking care of Mom again and I let Kay know in case they got the urge to come up to the old stomping grounds. DeWayne called to say she wasn't up to it so I called her. She said sure, she fell sometimes, and she needed a walker sometimes, and she had to have medications adjusted, and she had some pretty rough days, but that didn't mean she was an invalid and she was tired of being treated like one. We commiserated about Mom's medications.
She called me out of the blue recently and talked for a really long time. VERY unlike Kay. She was in the hospital again but had hopes about a new medication and family plans coming up. She talked about how supportive her family was and said they were wasting too much gas coming to visit her. She sounded good.
Kay was a gentle soul, the most maddeningly easy-going person I ever knew. Wish I was more like her.
Charlotte
Dear Kay, You were such a trooper through out your illness. It was a pleasure to have been around you and your family. May you rest in peace through out eternity. You are in GODs hands now and no more pain....God Bless you!
