Kay McCarter
Kay McCarter

Obituary of Kay McCarter

     Kay McCarter (Beverly Kay Kennedy), beloved wife and mother, was born September 3rd 1925 in Burley, Idaho to Fred H. Kennedy, formerly of Rifle, Colorado and Anna (Peg) Kennedy.  Her only sibling and brother, Douglas C. Kennedy was born July 28, 1927and predeceased her.   Kay’s family moved to Boise in 1933 from Salt Lake City.  She attended Whitney Elementary School, North Jr. High, and graduated from Boise High School in 1943.

     Kay married Donald C. McCarter three months before her high school graduation, at the time of his enlistment in the US Marines.  While Don was in training, she finished her freshman year at University of Idaho. In the summer of 1944, she and Don enjoyed only six months of married life, while Don was stationed in Corvallis, Oregon.  In 1944, Don was shipped over to the Marshall Islands during the war in the Pacific.  He also did an extra stint in China before finally reuniting with Kay in 1946. 

The summer after Don’s first year at Boise Jr. College, 1947, was an experience they never forgot.  The rigorous and exciting season they spent at Loon Creek Lookout on the Middle Fork of the Salmon River bred stories they never forgot.  It was a break they needed after being separated for so long. 

     Kay worked at the Comptroller’s office at the University of Colorado, in Boulder, while Don completed his Civil Engineering Degree in 1949.  They returned to Boise in 1950, starting their family with Kathleen Elise (1950), then Brian Calvin (1952) and later Lauren (1957).  They made their home on the Mountain View Bench about 1956. Kay was a homemaker and gardener, but she wanted to finish the degree she had started and years later she did.  Kay completed her BFA degree, with honors, at Boise State University in 1975. 

As an artist, Kay loved to travel and visit art museums all over the world. She toured Europe: Britain and France joining Don and Lauren, then most other European countries with Kathleen on a three-month excursion. She also toured the great game parks of East Africa with Don and Brian and travelled to China with Don. Some of our best family memories with her are closer to home at the family cabins on Payette Lake.

Kay is survived by three children: Kathleen Elise, Brian Calvin, Lauren, and six grandchildren: Christiana and John Gunderson; Brynna and Tessa McCarter; Julia and Henry Unrein.  Her kind and loving spirit and her delicious huckleberry coffee cake will be sorely missed by all of her family.   

     Family and friends are invited to attend a brief memorial service and celebration of Kay’s life at Summers Funeral Home, 1205 W. Bannock Street, Boise, ID 83702 on Friday, April 5, 2019 at 11:00am.

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Friday
5
April

Memorial Service

11:00 am
Friday, April 5, 2019
Summers Funeral Home-Boise Chapel
1205 W Bannock St
Boise, Idaho, United States
208-343-6493
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