Kay Irene Moser White
1933 ~ 2021
Kay Irene Moser White’s ministry ended peacefully at home on June 5, 2021 due to the effects of Alzheimer’s disease, the upbringing of seven wayward children, and the shepherds of hundreds (maybe thousands) of missionaries over the years.
Kay was born on September 15, 1933 to Alpha Lula Moore and John Franklin Moser in Turner Valley, Alberta, Canada, where she loved her two sisters, their horses, and the windswept plains of Alberta.
As a teen, Kay’s family moved to the sun-drenched sands of Moapa Valley, Nevada, where she was a baton twister in high school and introduced to Latter-day Saints by her best friend. Alene.
While attending Branch Agricultural College in Cedar City, Utah, Kay met the only boy who had a strong tenor to keep up with her beautiful soprano voice. Kay and Norman Nelson White were married on April 12, 1952 and were later sealed in St. George LDS Temple. Nine months after their wedding – to the exact day – their first child was born.
Norman’s Air Force career as a fighter pilot has taken her to many states and abroad. Along the way, Kay began watercolor and oil painting and became known for her impressive paintings of fighter jets set against breathtaking skies. Much of her works were commissioned to be hung in clubs by officers at the airbase.
After the Air Force retired, Kay and Norm moved to Provo, Utah, where their painting themes centered on pastoral landscapes, often with missionaries in them. Together they served four missions and presided over the California Sacramento Mission, the England Missionary Training Center, and the Los Angeles Temple Visitors Center. They also served in the Provo MTC. Between the missions, Kay enjoyed overnight stays and trips with her grandchildren to museums and the creamery at BYU.
After a hiatus of more than 30 years – when her children were all adults – Kay went back to school because she still had something to do. She earned a bachelor’s degree in family studies from BYU at age 60. And she just got one.
Kay loved her Savior and was known to spend a lot of time praying for her great offspring. She tried to reward him by serving wherever and whenever she was called. She served as the Relief Society general president for a year in Lubbock, Texas (in addition to three other callings) while wrestling with seven children, all by herself because of Norman’s service in Vietnam.
Kay leaves behind the children Kim Skinner (Charlie), Jon (Susan), Robin Knudsen (Wayne), Paul (Debra), Eric (Maylene) and Norman (Allyson); her sister Maxine McLean; 29 grandchildren and too many great-grandchildren to count. She was greeted at home by her husband Norman, son Robert (Elizabeth), parents, and sister Doreen.
A service in honor of Kay will be held in the chapel at 3050 N. Mojave Lane, Provo, UT, 84604 on Saturday, June 12th at 11am. Before the service, there will be a tour of the church from 9.30 a.m. to 10.45 a.m. The memorial service will also be available via zoom streaming at https://zoom.us/j/91424912268. The funeral will take place in the Eastlawn Memorial Hills in Provo. Expressions of condolences can be found at www.bergmortuary.com.
Special thanks go to Kay’s supervisor Ave for her love, attention, and tireless service, as well as Hearts for Hospice. And thank you mom for smiling your way through a long, difficult journey.
Published by Deseret News from June 9th to June 11th, 2021.
Comments are closed.