Kay Lea Mook
courtesy photo
Kay Mook
POLSON — Kay Lea Mook, beloved wife, mother, grandmother and great-grandmother passed away peacefully Saturday, June 28, 2014. Kay was born December 6, 1932, in Gillette, Wyo., to Gene and Elinore Wannschaff. She was so tiny that to keep her warm they put her in a shoebox and she slept on the oven door.
During her childhood she lived in Wyoming, Montana and Idaho. While working as an usherette at the Liberty Theater in Kellogg, Idaho, she met Jim Mook, and they were married on Dec. 23, 1948. They lived in Kellogg, Butte, and Anaconda before purchasing a ranch in the Round Butte area of Ronan where they lived for the next 25 years.
Kay loved ranch life. It was filled with hard work and great fun. Children were her passion and most of the time, when looking across the fields, you could never tell who the child was and who the Mom was. She would tell us to load up and take us car riding, swimming or sledding and she never just dropped us off, she had to be the first one down the hill.
After the kids left home, the ranch was sold and they built a house south of Ronan. Kay then took a job as a CNA with St. Luke’s Nursing home where she worked for the next eight years, loving every minute of it. They finally retired and spent the next 15 years as snowbirds, exploring the southwestern states and Mexico, making many new friends.
Kay is survived by her husband of 65 years, Jim; children Roger Mook, Brenda (Dick) Sheets , Rita (JD) Matthews, Rocky (Mike) Knight and the children of her heart Kandie Riebe, Addie Hout, Veronica Dunn, and Sandy Noble; 11 grandchildren and eight great- grandchildren; her siblings Bud (Jeanne) Wannschaff, Shirley (Harold) Lee and Karen (Lonnie) Tomich. Kay was preceded in death by her parents and infant son CJ.
She lived a long and happy life and touched the hearts of many people. Kay’s life was full of love and purpose and we will love and miss her forever. Memorial services will be held at 2 p.m. Wednesday, July 2, at the Ronan Christian Church in Ronan.
