Kay Greene

All who knew Kay Greene certainly would agree that she put the spice into life. She was lively and spirited with the best laugh. One could argue that Kay was simply born to be a mother as her nurturing skills and unconditional love just came naturally to her, and she considered it pure joy to care for so many children within her reach. Everything that came out of her kitchen was out of this world, but perhaps what made her food a cut above was that everything had just the right amount of love mixed right in. Never one to let life pass her by, Kay took in so many of the best things that the world has to offer. Life will never be the same without her here, but Kay’s memory will remain forever near and dear to all those she leaves behind.

As the 1940s appeared on the horizon, America was more than ready to close the chapter of the 1930s. These were some of the darkest days our nation had ever seen due to the unrelenting grip of the Great Depression. Although things were improving by 1939, there was growing concern over the hostilities that were gaining momentum overseas with what would become WWII. This same year was filled with great hope and promise as Cornelius “Neil” and Elizabeth (Dunkley) Meninga, along with her brother Ronald, welcomed a healthy baby girl, Kay Louise, into their hearts and home on March 21st. Her early years were spent on N. Westnedge in Kalamazoo on a celery farm. Later, when Elizabeth married Vaughn Dunham, the family moved to Martin. Vaughn's children, Jan and Fransis, became a part of Kay's life and Gary was born soon after.

In many ways Kay experienced a childhood that was reflective of the times. She enjoyed dressing up as a bride while dreaming of her prince charming someday. Like many other young girls, Kay was very afraid of snakes. It was while she was growing up that her love for cooking and being in the kitchen was born. Kay was a great cook right from the start, and these skills would remain with her throughout the rest of her life. She attended Martin Schools while growing up, graduating from Martin High School in 1957.

Life was forever changed for Kay when she met and later married Lawrence Greene. Together they were blessed with four children, Donald Scott, Rodney Allen, Cheryl Kay, and Jeffrey Steven. Although her marriage later ended, Kay was forever grateful for the children they shared.

Throughout her life Kay held down a variety of jobs. Her earliest years in the work force found her working as a dishwasher in a local restaurant. A talented seamstress, Kay also worked at Freedlands as a sewer. As the years went by she sewed bears for several people in the family. For a time she worked at Kal-Quip before settling in at Plainwell Paper in 1979 where she remained, and where she was a part of the union for more than 20 years before retiring.

It was while working at the paper mill that Kay met the love of her life, John Seekman. Although they never officially married, they shared their lives together for the 20 years that followed. He also had three grown children of his own whom Kay welcomed with open arms, Joyce, Jeanie, and Jerry. This also meant she had additional grandchildren to love, and there was nothing Kay treasured more than being a grandmother so that suited her just fine. In addition to her own family Kay also helped care for her brother Ron’s children, Lester, Margie, Ken, Steve, and Rhonda, after Ron’s wife died.

There was never anything more important in Kay’s life than her family. Christmas was always an event to remember in her home as she loved showering her family with gifts. Kay’s grandchildren will never forget Sunday dinners shared at the house in Martin with Grandpa John sitting in his chair watching wrestling while Kay prepared the meal that usually included buttered carrots. She always reminded her grandchildren, “carrots are good for your eyes,” but it proved to be very ironic that many of her grandchildren wear glasses despite her best efforts. When looking for Kay, one could almost always find her in her kitchen as she loved cooking, baking, and more cooking. Her taco parties and Halloween parties were priceless, and some of her more famous dishes included banana bread, fantastic lemon pie, fudge, and brownies with peanut butter frosting. After many years in Martin Kay moved to Plainwell in the early nineties where she remained for the rest of her life.

Over the years Kay’s life was enriched in so many ways. She enjoyed traveling to places such as Branson, Missouri, Colorado, and Florida, and she also loved the summer mud runs at the Nogles. Kay has been called a “professional shopper” as she loved hitting garage sales with her list of the sizes her grandchildren were wearing in search of great finds. She also collected books and shot glasses. In fact, she had a shot glass from every state. As she got older Kay went on trips with other seniors. Although she loved taking pictures, she hated actually being in the pictures herself. Kay always had her camera with her for family get togethers and events, and she loved making picture books of these events to bring back to her family members and friends so they could reminisce together.

Even after retirement Kay still worked in the kitchen at Plainwell Life Care for over 5 years. Kay also gave her time by volunteering at the library. She was a member of the Red Hat Society, walked daily as long as her heath allowed, loved listening to country music and books on CD, and liked watching Dr. Oz, her soaps, and Lions football.

The list of things to love about Kay was extensive. She was always doing things for others and was best known for saying, “I have something for ya,” whether it was something she cooked or sewed, a picture book she put together, or a personalized shirt for one of her children to wear. Never one to let life get the best of her, Kay noticed when others were feeling down and was famous for telling them, “Get over it and get on with it,” which was fairly easy to do with Kay around as her zest for life and great laugh were contagious.

Kay died on July 9, 2012 at home with her loving family by her side.

Through the life of Kay Greene we are reminded that true happiness is not found in what we have, but in what we give away. There was surely no one who left her presence unchanged. Kay was truly an extraordinary woman in many ways and will be deeply missed.