Kathryn Lou Grever was born to George and Leona Grever on August 25, 1937. Kay grew up in what she called "the hill country" the Ozark Mountains of Northwest Arkansas in the tiny town of Green Forest. Kay led a simple life; she played the piano, was on the basketball team and spent much of every day with her best friend Suzanne. After high school Kay left home and went to Wichita to work which is where she met Wally. They married after 6 months and moved to Fort Worth, Texas where Wally began his career. Kay and Wally had three daughters while in Texas and in 1968 relocated to Tulsa where they remained throughout their life.

For many years Kay was a stay-at-home mom. She was a good cook as well as having numerous specialty skills we found quite impressive. She had the ability to get any stain out of or off anything without damaging it. She could mash a pot of potatoes exactly as if she had used a mixer, but she did it by hand. Kay's sister-in-law Barbara said, "She has the most beautiful ironing I've ever seen!" She made by far, the best fudge and in the summer, she would make us strawberry/pineapple smoothies after a day at the pool (before anyone knew what smoothies were). After the girls got older, Kay did some things she enjoyed while we were at school. She learned to play tennis, joined a bowling league, and learned to embroidery, needlepoint, knit and crochet.  When Kay returned to work, she worked in bookkeeping at a bank, a doctor's office, and, her last job before retiring, was with a piping supply company.

Kay was a voracious reader and loved reading every page of the newspaper daily. She would then give the appropriate information she gleaned to each of us so that we knew if any of our friends or acquaintances got engaged, divorced, arrested etc. She also kept dad updated on all current events. After scanning every square inch of the paper, Kay would go back to the New York Times Crossword puzzle and work it every evening while snacking on Cheez-Its, ice cream or cookies and milk.

Kay enjoyed watching her Arkansas Razorbacks play football, loved watching tennis and March Madness. All that reading and watching sports paid off. She filled out a mean NCAA bracket (and won several times). She was unbeatable in Scrabble. We finally got tired of losing to her and just stopped playing.

Kay and Wally liked to take driving vacations and road trips. They were both great cooks and would always return with a cookbook from whatever towns they visited. Recipes were an obsession for Kay. She had many of her mothers' recipes, friends' recipes, recipes clipped out of the paper or the utility bill, notebooks and file folders of recipes. Recipes off the internet, written on post it notes and backs of envelopes. When we cleaned out their house, we found upwards of 150 cookbooks. Since no one could possibly have ever cooked all that, we think for her it might have just been the thrill of the chase.

Kay is proceeded in death but her parents and her brother Bill Gordon all of Green Forest, Arkansas and her loving husband of 62 years, Wally. She is survived by her three daughters Kristi Allen, Mindy and husband Mark Parks, Heidi and husband Joe Covey. Her grandchildren Matt Allen, Jerry and wife Keyna Allen and Justin Parks. Kay has three great grandchildren: Madison, Olivia, and Theodore. She is also survived by her sister Georgia Rosalee Autrey.

We will miss Kay's quick wit and wry sense of humor as well as her superior mashed potatoes, fudge, potato salad, sheath cake and strawberry jam.

We love you K-Mom

A Celebration of the Lives of Kay & Wally Krause will be held at 1PM Saturday, November 12, 2022 at Stanleys Chapel with a catered reception to follow.