Kathryn Wilson Payn

Kathryn ( Kay ) Wilson Payn passed away in the early morning of September 2, 2018, at the age of 83. She was born December 22, 1934, in Waterville, Maine, to Myrtle Ruth Wilson and Leon Mel Wilson. Kay is survived by her twin brother Keith Wilson of Salem, New Hampshire, her two daughters, Carel Ruth Thomas of Vallejo, California, and Laura Helen Scassera of Apollo, Pennsylvania, along with her two sons, Jeffrey Marshall Payn of Dallas, Texas, and Thomas Marshall Payn of Greenwood Village, Colorado. Kay is preceded in death by her parents, her sisters, Barbara Bryant and Dorothy York, of Bethel, Maine, and her great grand daughter, Nevaeh Marie Edwards.

Having grown up in the small town of Bethel, Maine, Kay graduated from Gould Academy, a private high school, in 1952. She went on to attend Mount Ida Junior College with honors in Boston, Massachusetts, and graduated in 1954. Her ensuing married years took her to Boston, Cincinnati, Denver, Portland, Oregon, and St. Joseph, Missouri, where she lived for eighteen years raising her four kids. Kay was the ultimate baseball mom to her sons, keeping score at all their games, and attended countless events of all her children, always involved in her kids' lives. When her kids were older, she worked tirelessly at the family business, Platt College in St. Joseph. After her divorce, Kay moved back to Denver, Colorado. It was there where she eventually became employed at Education Management Corp and enjoyed a 27 year career as a financial aid specialist, first in Denver for several years, then at the corporate office in Pittsburgh for 12 years, and back to Denver in 1999. It was a job she truly loved and her employers and fellow employees loved her. Reluctantly, she retired at the age of 75, but to avoid boredom, she signed up with Argus, an event staffing company, and for years she ushered at events like the Denver Nuggets, the Colorado Avalanche, the Denver Broncos, etc. It was the perfect part-time job, as she was able to see her professional sports teams and listen to numerous concerts for free! She had a big following of season ticket holders in the Club Section at the Pepsi Center.

In her ""retirement"", Kay traveled the world with friends, from the Wailing Wall in Jerusalem, to the Great Wall of China; from Machu Picchu in Peru, to the Killing Fields of Cambodia. She saw the Taj Mahal in India and cruised the fiords of Norway. There were several other countries she visited, but her favorite was Italy. The place she most wanted to go to next was Australia.

Kay always challenged herself to try something new. In her late 70's, she took up art and painting classes and found that she had a latent talent for drawing personalized gift cards, her doodles she called them. Many friends and family members were the recipients of these very personal cards, as well as members of the military overseas, to whom she sent them anonymously. She was also a huge fan of Native Indian art and would take trips to Santa Fe, New Mexico to make an occasional purchase.

Several years ago, Kay helped organized a group of homeless men from downtown Denver to play softball games every other week in the summer, escaping their homeless plight for a few hours to enjoy the competition of the game. She went so far as to purchase the bats, balls, gloves, and other supplies they needed. Those men so looked forward to the games, and Kay became the ""Den Mother"" to them all, as she attended every game they played for two years, making sure they had plenty of soft drinks and water plus Subway sandwiches after the games. And just two years ago, Kay became a member of the P.E.O. Sisterhood, which promotes young women's goals and dreams around the globe. Lastly, she was a regular attendee at Mile High Church in Lakewood, Colorado, where it was commonplace to join her friends for a Sunday brunch get together after the service.

Kay had a warm smile and made friends easily everywhere she went. She had a work ethic that is rarely seen today. She was an avid bridge player in her young adulthood, was a member of a bowling league, and she loved to read, especially historically based novels. She swooned over Elvis and Sinatra, but took a fancy to the Canadian Tenors later in life, attending two of their concerts with her daughter, Carel. She left notes to herself everywhere and was a self described ""pack rat"". She soaked in the beauty of Colorado, would text people like a teenager, and adored her dog, Nugget! She even loved J.R. Smith ( don't ask... ).

The one final thing that should be known about Kay is that she loved her family dearly and her three grandchildren, Natalie, Stephen, and Lydia Scassera could do no wrong. Despite living a three hour plane trip away, she would regularly see her grand kids throughout the years, and was an integral part of their lives as they grew to become young adults. She was the ultimate ""Mimi"".

Kay's passing leaves a huge hole in the hearts of her family and friends. But all can be comforted in knowing that she lived a full, active life with no regrets, as she said just a couple of months ago. She was not afraid of death, knowing that she would join the angels of her life with her passing. Kay spent her last week at her son's home with Nugget and her four children close by when she passed away peacefully. There can be no better way to get ready for the next part of the journey. Lung cancer took her life, but never her spirit. We love you, Mom.

PS: We know you have a great view of Australia from where you sit. Enjoy!

"" A life with love is a life that's been lived....""

A Celebration of Life service will be held on October 6, 2018 at 2:00PM at Horan & McConaty, 5303 E. County Line Rd. Centennial, CO 80122.

Celebration of Life: October 6, 2018 2:00 pm

Horan & McConaty - South Metro/Centennial
5303 E County Line Rd
Centennial, CO 80122