Kay Bakken's Obituary
Kay Jeanne Bakken (Carstens), 79 of Puyallup, Washington went to be with her Lord December 17th, 2017. Kay was born on October 7th, 1938 in Yankton, South Dakota. She grew up in Hartington, Nebraska with parents William and Wilma Mae (Ewing) Carstens and siblings Keith, Donna, Jan and William. She graduated in 1956 from Hartington High School and joined the US Army.
Kay served honorably in the Women’s Army Corps for 2 ½ years (June 1957-Jan 1960). While stationed in Germany she met and married Bryon Schuler. With their four sons Charles “Brian”, Kevin, Shawn and Wayne, they were stationed in Italy and Germany, as well as various bases stateside. Their final tour of duty was at Fort Lewis Tacoma, Washington where they retired and settled down. Kay remained with Bryon until his death in 1987.
After remarrying, Kay resided in Libby, Montana where she stayed for 25 years and was a member of the local Veterans of Foreign Wars and American Legion. She loved to talk and enjoyed conversing with friends and other vets. She had fond memories of the annual car show, “Ignite the Nites” and listening to western music while relaxing at the “The Mint”. An avid reader, she also loved to cook and bake as well as crochet and knit. Prior to returning to Washington, Kay lived with son Brian in Cheyenne, Wyoming where she began to regularly watch football.
May of 2016 Kay moved into Willow Gardens, a senior living facility in Puyallup allowing her and Kevin to visit nearly every day. They enjoyed going out to eat, shopping, playing Skip-Bo and watching her favorite Seattle Seahawks play or she’d support the underdog team in a football game.
Kay is survived by sons, Charles “Brian” of Cheyenne, Kevin and his wife Micky of Puyallup, Shawn and his wife Dionna of Tacoma, and Wayne and his wife Alana of Puyallup; grandchildren include, Demetrius of Inola, OK, Dominic of TX, Darren of Snoqualmie, WA, Marrisa and Aeryn of Puyallup, Alexis of Puyallup and Kasey of Tacoma; and greatgrandchild Drake of Inola. She is also survived by her bother Keith and his wife Sylvia of Holstein, IA and sister Jan and her husband Leo Murray of Algona, IA.
In addition to husband Byron, she was predeceased by husband Richard Bakken and longtime companion William “Bill” Blair, her parents William and Wilma Mae Carstens, her sister Donna Miller (Carstens) wife of LaVerl Miller of Dakota, NE and her brother William “Bill”.
A heartfelt thank you to Good Samaritan Hospital, Puyallup Nursing and Rehabilitation Center and Willow Gardens for the care they provided and compassion shown by all towards Kay and her family in her final days. Also thank you to Reverend Kim of One Mind Presbyterian Church in Tacoma for the prayers and support he and members of his congregation gave during this difficult time.
Graveyard service scheduled for 10:30 on December 28th, 2017 at Mountain View Memorial in Lakewood, Washington.
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