Kathleen (Kaye) Elaine Hanlon
Marriages
Clay Hanlon - July 17, 1960
Obituaries
The Daily Sentinel page 11C - May 28, 2023
“You don’t get elected
Homecoming Queen twice,
unless you’re both pretty
and nice... The day I met
her was the best day of my
life.” -Clay Hanlon
Born in the small
farming town of Ione,
California to Luther and
Irma Goddard in 1939,
Kaye was the youngest of
two daughters and looked
up to her older sister,
Lenore. The family soon
moved to Olathe, Colorado
where Luther was a ditch
rider and sheep rancher and
Irma was a waitress. As a
member of 4H, young Kaye
raised Columbia ewes and a
Suffolk ram named Buster,
the champion of the Delta
County Fair in 1952.
At Delta High School, she was a majorette and the
Homecoming Queen. And it’s where she met Clay Hanlon,
the wrestler with the coal black, curly hair. She found him
to be funny, smart, ambitious and thrilling. On a milkshake
date in high school, with Fats Domino’s “Blueberry Hill”
playing on the jukebox, they scribbled on a paper napkin:
“Kaye loves Clay! Let’s get married, okay? When? Soon as
possible!”
After graduating from Delta High in the class of ‘57,
they both attended Mesa Junior College (CMU) where
Kaye was a member of the student council and once again,
elected Homecoming Queen. On July 17, 1960, they made
good on their napkin pact and headed off to the University
of Colorado where Kaye earned a degree in education. To
help Clay finish his law degree, Kaye took a job as a cock-
tail waitress at the Boulder Harvest House, where she also
earned her PhT (Putting Hubby Through Law School).
After Boulder, Grand Junction became their permanent
home. With Clay practicing law and Kaye teaching elemen-
tary school, they soon welcomed their two sons, Justin and
Drew. It was a good life and their home was filled with love
& laughter. She was effortlessly stylish in any activity –
snow skiing in the winter, family water skiing & camping
trips in the summer and many adventures in between.
Kaye was a highly respected and beloved school teacher
& mentor for many years in Mesa County School District
51. Spending most of her teaching career at Fruitvale,
Clifton and then Orchard Avenue Elementary. After re-
tiring, she continued as a valued volunteer for the school
district. Through the years, Kaye’s devotions, interests and
hobbies ranged from volunteering, volleyball, tennis, bik-
ing, skiing, classical & bluegrass music, Unity Church, toll
painting and her beautiful calligraphy. Her favorite movie
was Dr. Zhivago.
Justin and Drew both followed in their parents’ foot-
steps by marrying their own high school sweethearts. Kaye
welcomed Laini and Sherry into her life as if they were her
own daughters. Never an unkind word, she was always your
biggest supporter and her tinkling laugh made her your best
audience. As a daughter, mother, grandmother, wife, teach-
er, neighbor & friend, she was forever gracious, kind and an
incredible hostess. Kaye was fun to talk to because she was
much more interested in you than she was in herself. In her
kitchen hangs the sign: “Grandma’s my name, spoiling is
my game!” This arts and crafts Grandma of Conner, Emmy,
Carli, Cal and Dolcie had a knack for doing fun projects
with her grandkids while sneaking in a little learning. She
hosted many tea parties where both princesses and pirates
were invited.
Clay and Kaye’s 50th anniversary was marked with a
memorable family trip to Ireland, where Kaye kissed the
Blarney Stone, biked the Inis Mor Aran Island, rode a horse
in Killarney, slept in the Knappogue Castle and was most
enchanted by a harpist playing a beautiful Gaelic tune at
the Cliffs of Moher. On the last night of the trip, in the
lobby of a Dublin hotel, with their sons, daughters-in-law
and grandkids looking on, Clay and Kaye danced to Fats
Domino’s “Blueberry Hill.”
Their retirement years were spent traveling the world
with good friends – A European cruise, Grand Canyon
rafting, Costa Rica and the American South. But it was the
lighthouses of Nova Scotia that inspired Kaye the most.
She vowed to learn watercoloring to paint her memories
of these lighthouses, but unfortunately, like an uninvited
guest, Alzheimer’s crept in.
She fought this vicious disease for over a decade, while
Clay tirelessly cared for his high school sweetheart. She
also received wonderful care from Aspen Ridge Memory
Center, where she was a resident for the past three years.
Clay visited every day and still took her out for milkshake
dates. As the disease progressed, he visited every evening
to help feed her. He said, “After everything she’s done for
me, it’s the least I can do for her.”
It was a valiant fight, but Alzheimer’s always wins.
When Kaye stopped eating, HopeWest Hospice lovingly
guided her transition. Surrounded by her family and on her
last day, a kind hospice volunteer came into her room and
played her a beautiful Gaelic tune on her harp, just like that
soft day at the Cliffs of Moher.
As Kaye started to lose her memory, she made a point
to always tell her kids and grandkids, “You are the light of
my life!” Well, Mom, we were only reflecting the light you
were shining on us. You are our guiding light. Our light-
house.
