Katherine Kay Moor

Katherine Kay (nee Anderson) Moor died March 6, 2012, at the Alaska Veterans and Pioneer Home in Palmer.

Kay was born and raised in Merrill, Wisc. She married Julius Moor on Dec. 7, 1946. In 1951, they set out for Alaska in a 13-year-old Buick pulling a 21-foot trailer over the muddy, dusty, rutted Alaska Highway.

Home is where the heart is. She made a home for her family in that trailer in Haines, Gakona, Trim’s Camp and behind the Alpine Inn in Sutton before settling in Palmer, where she lived for more than 50 years. Homes over the years included a homestead near Goose Bay, a Swiss chalet they built in Palmer and Independence Mine.

Kay wasn’t a bookkeeper, but when her husband became a partner in an Eska coal mine, she stepped up to learn the trade, beginning her rewarding career in bookkeeping and accounting.

Kay wasn’t a commercial cook either, but when the couple started a ski lodge at Independence Mine in 1958, she learned the role of resort manager and chef, serving memorable family style breakfasts, dinners and a short-order menu.

Employed by the Mat-Su borough in the mid to late 1960s, she oversaw the transition of property tax records to computers.

Her favorite job was with RurAL CAP, where she traveled to many Bush communities and was often hosted by local families, experiencing the problems and blessings of the Bush lifestyle. She ended her career as a part-time tax checker. After retirement, she joined her husband in land investment and development.

Kay resided in Lahore, Pakistan, from 1975 to 1979 while Julius worked for the United Nations. She enjoyed traveling in many Asian and European countries during that time.

She was a lifetime member of the following: AMVETS Wasilla Post 9 Ladies’ Auxiliary; The Grand Igloo of Pioneers of Alaska, serving as president of the Ladies’ Palmer Auxiliary 11 in 1996; Wasilla Area Seniors Inc.; and the Ladies’ of the Elks, Palmer Lodge 1842.

Kay was an accomplished seamstress and knitter. She enjoyed cooking, reading, road trips and camping, and relished family gatherings.

Preceding her in death was Julius Moor, her husband of 50 years; and her six siblings.

Surviving are her children, Sandra Modica, Allen (Phyllis) Moor, Phillip (Catherine Fjelstul) Moor, Julia (Garth) Lenz, Sheri (Tony) Loveland and Terry (Denise Moreau) Moor; six grandchildren; and five great-grandchildren.

Her family sends eternal gratitude to her adopted family at the Palmer Pioneer Home for their care and love of Kay in her last three years.

Her family will miss her terribly, but will always cherish her example of living life to its fullest, reaching out to others with kindness, working through problems, laughing hard and loving unconditionally.

Please join her family at 1:30 p.m., April 15 for a celebration of life officiated by longtime family friend Dick Anderson at the Valley Elks Club, 2600 N. Barry’s Resort Drive, Wasilla.

In lieu of flowers, donate in her name to the American Diabetes Society, 801 W. Fireweed No. 103 Anchorage, AK 99501.