Karyl Ann Ikerd "Kay" McKean Obituary (1929 - 2020)

SALT LAKE CITY, UTAH – Lovingly surrounded by family and with peace in our hearts we said goodbye to our mother Karyl Ann (Kay) Ikerd McKean on September 23, 2020. Kay, the youngest of three children, was born on July 15, 1929 in Chicago, Illinois to Kenneth and Virginia (Seagle) Ikerd. Kay was with us for 91 remarkably healthy years living independently until succumbing to complications from a fall in her Salt Lake City, Utah home. Kay, the daughter of two working parents, grew up in Omaha, Nebraska and Indianapolis, Indiana and was raised with the help of her grandmother “Billie”, Adath Boxwell Seagle, who lived with the family. Kay was an A+ Honors student athlete and 1947 graduate of Thomas Carr Howe High School in Indianapolis. She was an athletically gifted member of the women’s volleyball and gymnastics teams while also active in the Spanish Club, Choir Club, Girls Athletic Association, Student Activity Board, and several other clubs. After graduation, Kay moved to Ketchum, Idaho to work, living with her elder sister Marvel Day and brother-in-law Charlie Day. Shortly after arriving, and while working as a waitress at the Sun Valley Lodge, Kay met and fell in love with Tom McKean who worked at a sawmill during his summer break from the University of Utah. Kay and Tom married on April 3, 1948 in Salt Lake City, Utah and together had six children: Tom McKean; Leslie McKean Gilmore (Douglas); Ken McKean (Maureen); Katie McKean Seidel (deceased); Scott McKean (Annie); and Liza McKean Gleason (Rick). Kay and Tom divorced in 1974 and Tom passed in 2002. Kay’s posterity includes her six children (one deceased), 17 grandchildren (one deceased), and 34 great-grandchildren (with two more on the way). She is also survived by her elder brother Ed Ikerd. Although a stay-at-home mother, Kay made time to support United Way campaigns, enjoyed selling Avon products to friends and neighbors and was actively involved in the Cub Scout program as Den Mother and engaged supporter for many years. A proud alumnus, Kay loved returning to her high school reunions and financially supporting student scholarships. Later, when her children were grown, Kay dedicated several years of her life providing loving care to her daughter Katie as she battled a brain tumor. After Katie’s passing in 1991, Kay moved to Sonoma, California to help with her son Tom’s business. Several years later she returned to Salt Lake City to work at and retire from the 7-Eleven convenience store in the Rose Park neighborhood of Salt Lake where she was a beloved member of the community and called many of her customers “family”. On October 1, 2020 we sadly laid Kay to rest next to her beloved daughter and father. Our mother was a beautiful, smart, and strong woman. We children all agree she was effective, in unusual ways in hindsight, at preparing us as adults to seek and give love, kindness, compassion, empathy and connection. Thank you, Mom, we love you! In remembrance, the family would like to thank all of Kay’s extended family and friends for being there for her over the many years, and especially to the doctors and nurses at the Salt Lake Regional Medical Center intensive care unit for providing wonderful medical care in her last days. Funeral services provided by Jenkins-Soffe Funeral Chapels of Murray, Utah. Interment was at Memorial Lake Hills Cemetery, Sandy, Utah.