Mary Kay Walters, 79, St. Joseph, Missouri, passed away Wednesday, December 21, 2022.
She was born on September 28, 1943 to Earl and Ada (Witt) Justice in Kansas City, Missouri. She attended Central High School and Caster Beauty Academy.
In 1963, she married Douglas Walters. Kay met Doug when they both worked at K-Mart. Doug likes to call her his "Blue Light Special". They were married for 59 years and attribute their long-lasting marriage to Kay always being right, never going to bed mad, and Doug worked nights for 15 years. Kay was an amazing Grandma to all of her grandchildren, they loved spending the night with her and called it "Grandma Camp". There would be sleeping bags, pillows and blankets all over her bedroom. She would let her granddaughters pick out her pajamas for the night and kick grandpa out of the bedroom and make him sleep in another room. She loved every minute! She would even get so tickled at something they did or said that she would laugh so hard tears would squirt out of her eyes. It was almost like a challenge to see who could make her laugh that hard first. She also never missed a grandchild's event, from gymnastics, swim meets, softball games, graduations, birthdays, Christmas programs. She made it to every single activity or celebration, arriving early and always the last to leave. She was a modest, selfless, humble woman who was fiercely private, loved her family with her whole being and never succumbed to the difficulties of living with MS.
Her grandchildren were her entire life. Everything she did revolved around being a mother and grandmother. There were many Uno and card games with her grandchildren where she always let them win. She also loved attending Grandparents Day at her grandchildren’s schools where she would spend the whole morning sharing donuts, touring their school and meeting their friends and teachers. She also collected spoons, enjoyed needlepoint and cross-stitch. She was also a Boy Scouts of America Den Mother for her sons, and she spent many hours driving her daughter to dance and swim team.
She was preceded in death by her parents and her stepson, Charles Edward Walters.
Survivors include her husband, Douglas; siblings, Dennis Earl (Lois) Justice and Mark Francis (Debbie) Justice; children, Barbara Alane Walters-Keller, Michael Todd Walters, Craig Allen Walters; stepson Brian Douglas Walters; grandchildren, Emily Paige Walters, Megan Rae Walters, Bailey Christine Keller, Madison Kay Keller, Sydney Alise Keller, Aiden Douglas Walters, Lillie Addison Walters; step-grandchildren, Jeremy Brian Walters, Kyle Aaron Walters; and great-grandson Logan Douglas Walters.
The family would like to express their gratitude to Freudenthal Hospice for their care and service to Kay.
