Kay Cummings of Spokane Valley, Washington, passed away at the age of 87. She was born in 1937, in Missoula, Montana and grew up at her parents’ ranch in the Bull River valley located about 14 miles from Noxon, MT. Kay went to school at Noxon and graduated from high school in 1955. Kay married Ken Cummings in 1957 in Illinois where Ken was attending technical school in the Air Force. They traveled and lived all over the country because of the service, with three sons and a daughter. The service brought them to Winnemucca, Nevada, and she worked as a nurse’s assistant at the hospital in Winnemucca until the birth of her 5th child, Michael. Kay was a collector of spoons, Christmas ornaments and red glass, and dabbled in Alaskan clay art, knitting, making root beer from scratch, and other crafts. Kay and Ken made friends easily, many of them lifelong, and always had pets, usually dogs but sometimes a cat or two, a dozen gerbils and even 2 geese. Her husband retired from the Air Force, and they moved to Coeur d’ Alene, Idaho for a short while and then to the Spokane valley where her husband trained for a second career. During that career they continued to move all around the western United States, settling in Utah for a few years, where they were members of the Lutheran church. In 1983 they lost their daughter, Julie while she served in the US Army. Eventually they moved back to Spokane Valley, WA, making it their home base and, after retiring again, continued the journey to various places in a motorhome. In 2018 they lost their son, Michael, and her husband became severely ill later that year. They entered assisted living in 2019, and her husband passed away in 2020, and then Kay moved to the northside of Spokane to stay with her grandson, Chris. In June of 2021 she moved to Royal Park Retirement where she resided until her passing. Despite all her hardships with poor sight and memory in her final years, she was always kind to everyone and had a sweet soul. She will be dearly missed.
Kay was preceded in death by her parents, Frank and Evelyn, sisters Theda (Jack) and Betty (Frank), husband Ken, daughter Julie, and son Michael. She is survived by sons Randy, Brian, and Ken (Christine), and numerous grandchildren, great grandchildren, nieces, nephews and cousins.
The family would like to thank her hairdresser, Shelly at the Wandermere Salon, and Amy Stafford and others at Royal Park Retirement and the doctors and nurses at Holy Family Hospital for the tireless care and compassion that they showed Kay in her final years and days.
Kay will be interred at Pines Cemetery in Spokane Valley, WA, with her husband Ken and son Mike. A celebration of life will be held in the Spring with friends and family. Details to be provided later.
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