Kay Jean Allen

Late last night, my wonderful Nana, Kay Jean, passed away. She is my father's mother. It was not something anyone was prepared for, except maybe Nana herself. She was doing quite well but fell and broke her hip on Sunday night. She was rushed to the hospital where they took her off of her blood thinning medication to prep her for surgery. Unfortunately, this caused her to have a stroke. The stroke caused bleeding and swelling in her brain and she passed away peacefully surrounded by family after a little over a day of this.

Kay Jean was and is an exceptional woman. She was classy and elegant. While sweet and spiritual, she could also pull out a one-liner like you wouldn't believe. She would say the funniest things about sex, and what made it funnier was seeing my dad's face. She never failed to give me a smile and hug when I saw her. I had lost both of my grandma's by the time my mom married my dad so it was with great joy that I accepted Kay Jean as my Nana. She raised seven children of her own and adopted another, Ronnie, when Ronnie was close to adulthood. She had 80 great-grandchildren (George is number 80). She has a very loving relationship with my granddad and it was hilarious to see them interact. Oh, how patient she was with him! She never had a negative thing to say about the choices I made. She always made me feel special and more importantly, loved. She accepted my rowdy brothers and laughed at their inappropriate jokes. She served many missions with my Granddad and, of course, loved the people she served. She never turned down a game of hand and foot and always claimed to have won the last game she played. The saddest part for me is that George will grow up having never met his wonderful Nana Kay.

She had been in pain for many years. Her first pain free days were in the hospital on pain management drugs. We are glad she is now pain free and happy in Spirit Paradise. She is probably over talking to those who didn't have the chance to know the Gospel in this life, helping them to develop a love of the Truth.

Thank you Nana for the wonderful example that you were. We love and miss you!