Kay Yates

Kay Yates, 83, of Kilgore passed away peacefully on December 25, 2022, in her home. Funeral services will be held at 11:00 am on Friday, December 30, at St. Luke’s United Methodist Church in Kilgore, with Reverend Dr. Allison Andrews and Reverend Darwood Galaway officiating. Visitation will be the evening before, Thursday December 29, from 6:00-7:30 pm at Rader Funeral Home in Kilgore.

Kay was born on October 12, 1939, in Slaton, TX, to Herbert Edward Jones and Alta Grace (Robinson) Jones. She grew up in West TX and graduated from Midland High School in 1957. She then attended Texas Tech University where she was a member of Delta Delta Delta sorority. Kay met her future husband Wilbur in 1969 at Lubbock National Bank where she worked. Wilbur visited as a bank examiner and asked her out for their first date to the Texas Tech homecoming football game. They were married in 1970. She was a church secretary at St. Stephen’s United Methodist Church in Amarillo for five years before moving to Kilgore, TX.

Kay and Wilbur had two daughters, Kara and Kristin, who she loved spending time with and caring for. Kay was an avid reader. She also enjoyed golfing, and she was very proud to have shot a hole in one. She loved to travel, and although she traveled the world with Wilbur, one of her favorite places to go for family vacations was Galveston, TX. She also loved watching Texas Tech football and spending time with her family at the lake. She was active in Coterie Club, Garden Club and Bridge clubs for many years, and was an excellent bridge player right up until the pandemic in 2020. “Miss Kay”, as she was so lovingly referred to, was well-known as the director of Stepping Stone Pre-school from 1992-2008. Everyone loved “Miss Kay” and and she truly loved and cared deeply for each and every child she met. She touched so many lives. Working with children was her passion.

Kay was very service-oriented and compassionate. She enjoyed volunteering in many capacities over the years. In addition to working with kids at Stepping Stone, she also mentored teens and volunteered at local schools to help with reading programs. Kay was a member of St. Luke’s United Methodist Church, and she enjoyed teaching Sunday school together with Wilbur for several years. She also served in many other ministries in the church including leading the senior exercise class until the pandemic.

Most of all, Kay loved her family. She was very strong in her faith and overcame breast cancer twice. Her grandchildren and great-grandchildren call her Kaykie. To know Kay, “Miss Kay, “Kaykie”, is to love her. She was selfless, loyal, positive, caring, loving, and gracious. She was the “perfect sister, mother, wife, and Kaykie.”

Kay was preceded in death by her father Herbert Edward Jones, her mother Alta Grace Harber, and her step-father Bill Harber.

She is survived by her husband of fifty three years Wilbur F. Yates, her daughters Kara Yates Hood (Barry) of Lubbock, Kristin Ashley Marquardt (Danny) of Dallas, grandchildren Erin Hood Hawthorn (Forrest), Emily Hood Smith (Ian), Bryson Yates Marquardt, Gracie Kay Marquardt, great-grandchildren Paxton June Smith, Luella Grace Hawthorn, and Cooper Hood Smith, her brother Herbert “Bubba” Jones, sisters-in-law Marsha Jones, Von Chamberlain, Faye Yates, and many nieces and nephews.

The family would like to give a special thanks to her wonderful caregivers: Theresa Caldwell, Dejuana Darden, Patricia Harvey, Brenda Westmoreland, and Nila Harris.

In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to St. Luke’s United Methodist Church in Kilgore or St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital