Kay Ilene Barrs, 82, (she'll say 29 and holding) of Table Rock, Nebraska was born on January 14, 1941, in Broken Bow, Nebraska to a family of 16 other kids where she was next to the youngest and later another child was born. They were all taken away when Kay was 4 except for the ones that were of age. Kay was adopted by two wonderful parents, Ruth and Walter E Hawkinson. She attended grade school in District #66 and later graduated from Omaha Westside High School. As a child, Kay had tap dance lessons, ice skating lessons, piano lessons, and was in Brownies. Kay loved figure skating and won ribbons in her older years. When Kay moved to Table Rock, she and her friend Pat would ice skate on Joe’s Pond. In high school, she joined Rainbow Girls and went thru the line and was Worthy Advisor in 1959.
On June 3, 1960, Kay was united in marriage to Richard Joseph Blank in Omaha, Nebraska and to this union four children, Tamara Kay, Leslie Eileen, Jolene Annette, and Jonathan Richard were born. The couple owned and operated “The Upper Bar” in Table Rock, Nebraska from 1971-1976. They also had 11 head of horses and spent many weekends competing at horse shows in the barrels and poles. Kay loved to fish, was a very talented artist, and loved to crochet. The family loved how she would make our birthday and Christmas presents. Joe Blank and Kay divorced in 1977 and on May 15, 1982, Kay was united in marriage to Bobby Lee Barrs in Omaha, Nebraska. They lived in Omaha before settling back in Table Rock in 1996 where Kay has lived since.
Kay passed away on Tuesday, October 3, 2023, at her home in Table Rock, Nebraska having reached the earthly age of eighty-two years, eight months, and nineteen days. She is preceded in death by her parents; Ruth and Walter E. Hawkinson, brother Donald Hawkinson, sister Laura Lee Shuck, daughter Tamara Kay Blank, husbands Joe Blank and Bobby Lee Barrs, grandson Michael Joseph Miller, granddaughter Heidi Jo Vanden Bosch.
Kay is survived by her daughter Tami's children Jesse, Erin, & April Vanden Bosch of South Dakota; daughter Leslie Blank (Lamb) of Table Rock, and children Beau, Nicholas, Kyle & Joseph; daughter Jolene Lang of Omaha, & children Beth, Bobby, & Jake; son Jon Blank and wife Karen of Table Rock, and children Jessica, Raegan, Amber, & Wyatt; son-in-law Don Lamb Jr. of Table Rock, and children Nicholas, Donnie, & Paige; numerous great-grandchildren; step-children: Cindy Rojas and husband Mike of Omaha, NE; Kathy Barrs of Omaha, NE; Kim Barrs of Arkansas, 13 step-grandchildren, sister-in-law Shirley Hawkinson of Clay Center, NE; and many other nieces, nephews, relatives and friends.
A Celebration of Kay’s Life will be held at 2:30 p.m. on Sunday, October 15, 2023, at the Table Rock City Park in Table Rock, Nebraska with Pastor Terry Weible officiating.
Condolences can be shared online at www.wherrymortuary.com
Marilyn Handschuh (Woodbury)
I am sorry to read of Kay's death and send my deepest sympathy to her family. Marilyn Woodbury
Lois Mixer (Soukup)
Was also sad to hear of Kay's passing. Had some good times with her in junior high but lost track after we graduated. A lady that spoke excitement with that beautiful red hair and a laugh that made one laugh right along with her. My sympathies to all of her families and friends.
Waneta Sue Downing (Trowbridge)
From Jim and Lorie:
Regarding Kay Hawkinson, yes, I remember her as a classmate at Loveland, but not so much at Westside. Lorie however, does remember her at Westside. I'll turn the keyboard over to her to add her recollections:
Funny you should ask; she and I were best friends in high-school; you may be thinking her obit was a bit sad because no one remembered her but I assure you she knew all of you who went to grade school with her. Yes, she was a quiet girl but fun loving. Because she knew you all, she was valuable to me as a friend; I was new to Westside in my sophomore year and I needed to know those I was dealing with. She spoke highly of some, like my Jim, and not so much of some others.
Her parents loved her and she knew they loved her; therefore, she was guarded to never hurt and displease them in any foolish teen-age antics. We did lots of things together, like swimming at Peony Park, roller skating and ice skating at the local arena, shopping and just the usual stuff teen age girls do. We had a group that included, Janet Peppers and Jean Krupa. She loved horses; I used to tease her about being “horsey”, so I’m not surprised to read she had some in her adult life.