Kathryn J. Montgomery

(1924 – 2016)

Kathryn (Kay) Montgomery passed away peacefully on October 8, 2016, at her home with her loving husband at her side.  Kathryn Jessie Hall was born in Lyons, Nebraska, on May 12, 1924.   Roy Ellsworth Hall, both a physician and an adventurer, led the family to the “great Pacific Northwest”, settling in Portland, Oregon in 1929.  Doc Hall passed away when Kay was only thirteen, leaving Kay, her older brother Dick and their mother Lena in the Rose City.

Kay graduated from Grant High School following which she completed secretarial school.  She became a secretary in the Portland office of the Federal Bureau of Investigation. Kay met the love of her life at a dance in Seattle.  She married Robert J. (Bob) Montgomery, an Ohio-born, Army Air Corps veteran and Boeing aeronautical engineer in 1953.  Boeing supplied the honeymoon by moving the couple to Wichita, Kansas.  Kay and Bob returned to Seattle after a few years with a daughter, Linda, and a handful of lifelong friends.  Two more daughters, Julie and Diane, were soon born, completing the Montgomery family.

Kay was dedicated to providing a loving and comfortable home for her family. She and Bob were active member of the Overlake Park Presbyterian Church for over 50 years.  As the girls were growing up, she went back to work for the Martin Poggi Company as a secretary for several years. Kay was known to family and friends for her storytelling, her silly songs and poems, her baked treats and her kindness.

Kay and Bob were blessed with 8 grandsons.  She relished spending time with her grandchildren, and made them a priority in her life.  She is survived by her husband of 63 years, Robert; daughters Linda DeBoer (Dale), Julie Lemme (Peter) and Diane Mass (Jon); grandchildren Paul (Piper) & Ryan Jones; Justin (Lacie), Kyle, & Zach (Brittany) DeBoer; Sean, Kevin & Alex Lemme; and great-granddaughters Lila & Sydney Jones and Emmaline DeBoer.

A memorial service will be held on Sunday, October 23, at 1:00 PM at Overlake Park Presbyterian Church, 1836 156th Avenue NE Bellevue, WA 98007.

In lieu of flowers, remembrances can be made to:  Brain & Behavior Research Foundation, New York, NY.