Katherine ""Kay"" Mitchem

Katherine I. Mitchem , of Denver, died peacefully Tuesday, April 26, 2016 after several weeks of care by medical personnel. She was 97 years of age and the beloved wife of retired Denver attorney, Allen P. Mitchem, Sr. Born in Denver, Kay lived her entire life in Denver . She graduated from St. Mary's Academy,. She loved flowers, and for more than 30 years was a loyal member of the Crestmoor Garden Club, hosting that club's annual St. Patrick Day event . Following their marriage in 1993, she and Allen toured much of the world, travelling by automobiles, cruise ships , helicopters and airplanes, to interesting places including numerous European countries, the Arctic and Antarctic Oceans, the interiors of Greenland and Iceland, the Panama Canal, the Falkland Islands, South American countries, the Great Pyramids, Israel, China and a host of other places.. Kay's working career was largely with the City and County of Denver where she had served as office manager of the city's Building Department under the administration of four different Mayors. Kay and Allen first met in 1982 after the death of her first husband and after she had retired from the Denver Building Department. Soon thereafter, Kay joined the same Denver Service Club of which Allen was then a member. After the tragic death of Allen's first wife, Allen and Kay started seeing each other, and on August 21, 1993, they were married in the presence of a number of family members and friends in a tent erected in the back yard of her home near Crestmoor Park. That development led to the size of Kay's immediate family being enlarged to include 3 step-sons, 9 step-grand-children and 8 step-great-grand-children, all of whom loved her and will miss her very much, as will her husband. Services will be held at 11:00 a.m., May 20th at the Central Christian Church, 3690 Cherry Creek South Drive, Denver, CO 80209-3501. The family suggests that memorial contributions may be made to that church.