Kathryn Aileen Sparks

Kathryn was born on January 21, 1924, in Leadville, Colorado, and passed away on June 7, 2025, in Phoenix, Arizona.

She attended high school in her hometown of Leadville. After graduating from high school, she worked as a telephone operator. Kathryn’s life was changed when she met Jesse Sparks at a dance. After dating each other, Jesse proposed to her on a porch swing at her mother’s home. She became an Air Force wife and homemaker, living with her new husband in Air Force housing. They lived in a number of places: Okinawa, Washington State, Colorado, Puerto Rico, and Texas. During the war, Jesse was a Morse Code operator. He spent the rest of his career in the Air Force as an auditor. Rebecca (Becky) was born in Okinawa. James Michael (Mike) was born in Colorado two years later.

During the summer of 1973, the family decided that they wanted to finish their travels with the U.S. Air Force, so Jesse retired from this branch of the service. Jesse then found employment with the state of Arizona as an auditor. They spent a number of years together living in their home in Glendale, and Jesse worked for the state of Arizona until his retirement. Jesse passed away on December 24, 2005.

Kathy had a number of years by herself in their home in Glendale. Thankfully, Mike and Melissa lived in nearby Phoenix. Becky and her family lived in Oklahoma and then Maryland, but they visited with her as often as they could. Her granddaughter Jessie lived with her during some of these years and was a great companion and help to her. At a certain point, Kathy, during her 90s, saw the need for assisted living, so she moved to an assisted living home, not far from her original home in Glendale. This is where she lived the rest of her life. She was 101 years and five months old when she passed away. This was just a couple of weeks after seeing granddaughter Jessie graduate from nursing school, something that Kathy wanted so much to see.

Kathryn was the wife of Jesse and the mother of Rebecca and James Michael. She was also the grandmother of Rachel, Matthew, Jessie, Lilly, Michael, and Thomas. She loved her husband, her two children, and her six grandchildren, along with her two in-laws in the family, Tim and Melissa. She loved each one of them very much.

Kathryn was a Christian believer and a member of the Seventh-day Adventist Church. She believed in the resurrection and the promise of eternal life, and she awaits these great realities promised in the Bible when Jesus someday soon returns to this Earth.

A memorial service for Kathryn will be held on Thursday, June 19, 2025, from 6:00 PM to 7:00 PM.