Kay J Fleming

Kay was born on August 9, 1942, to Charles Allen Jackson and Hellon Hortense McCorkle Jackson in Cleburne, Texas, and grew up under the protective wingspan of her three older siblings, Charlie Dell, Grady, and David, all of whom she adored. Her childhood was full of fishing, camping, and adventures with her siblings. She learned to love Jesus as a child, blessed to grow up in a home where prayer threaded throughout each day and faith moved mountains, and the same mother and grandmother who passed down their faith also passed down a love for art. Kay could never articulate when or how she fell in love with art; to her, living among the beauty of God’s creation absolutely required a response of her own. Without a doubt, the paintings and weavings that would anchor her career decades later had their earliest roots in her Cleburne childhood, where she was taught to look with grateful eyes on all that God has made.

In high school, Kay cherished her friendships, honed her masterful sewing skills, relentlessly kept in touch with her older siblings as they left the nest, and absolutely thrived in the Cleburne High School Band as a clarinet player. After graduating CHS in 1960, Kay attended Abilene Christian College where she was a proud member of the women’s social club, Ko Jo Kai. One summer, while working for her older sister and brother-in-law, Charlie Dell and Jim Easdon, at their Dairy Queen in Snyder, Texas, she met a young Texas Tech accounting student who came in for an ice cream; the rest, they say, is history. On September 5, 1964, Kay married the love of her life, Ronald Gene Fleming, in Cleburne in a dress she sewed herself, and for the next fifty-six years of their marriage until Ron’s passing, Kay loved, supported, and prayed for her husband fiercely.

After raising John and Chris, their older sons, and with a young daughter, Meghan, still at home, Kay returned to finish her undergraduate degree at Texas Tech University. As a self-proclaimed “late bloomer,” she fully embraced being the oldest student in her classes and made scores of friends who were half her age, laughingly telling anyone who asked that you’re never too old to learn something new. After graduating with a Bachelor of Arts in Studio Art in 1993, Kay realized she was called to share her love of art with children and pursue her teacher’s license; to this day, countless students are glad she did. From 1996 to 2010, Kay worked for Lubbock ISD, teaching art first at Parsons Elementary and then at Ramirez Charter School, and it is hard to capture in words how uniquely gifted Kay was as a teacher. She had a magnetism rooted in genuine concern for people - not just the students on her rosters, but their families as well, along with her colleagues, administrators, and perhaps especially the custodial staff who would always ask about her projects (spoiler alert: she ended up holding free art classes in the evenings for the custodial teams for many years). Growing up with “Mrs. Fleming” as a mom meant that going out to eat almost always equated with running into former students, all of whom shared a quiet, celebrity-status awe of their beloved art teacher. The Texas Art Education Association also appreciated her magic in the classroom, recognizing her as the Outstanding Elementary Art Educator in 2006. While Kay enjoyed teaching art to anyone who showed interest, she valued as sacred the art therapy work she did with children who had been through trauma, praying that God would use art to heal as she personally knew He so powerfully could.

Kay’s life and heart were full of passions: she loved West Texas sunsets, painting on canvases taller than she was, a generous sprinkling of salt on most (all) foods, and a nice, cold, canned Dr. Pepper. However, her greatest joy this side of Heaven was her family. For as truly talented as she was as a teacher, she was infinitely more gifted at being a mom. From her, we learned what it means to keep an open door and table for your children’s friends, how to embrace and be excited about whatever their latest adventures are, and how to be your children’s biggest cheerleader across all stages of life. Mothering was her superpower, and it was fueled by prayer. At risk of giving away her secret, she lived out Matthew 6:6, “But when you pray, go into your room and shut the door and pray to your Father who is in secret, ” literally. In cleaning out her home, we found threadbare carpet in her closet - a beautiful and tangible connection to God’s hand upon our lives. By partnering with Him in prayer, Kay gave her children a glimpse into how deeply God loves us and how incomparably great His power is for us.

Kay is survived by her son, John Fleming, and his wife, Lisa, of Southlake; her son, Christopher Fleming, and his wife, Tracy Nelson-Fleming, of Hong Kong; her daughter, Meghan Streit, and her husband, Gregory, of Charlottesville, VA; her grandchildren: Lauren Manley and her husband, Ryan; Zoe Fleming, Jordan Fleming, Peyton Fritts and her husband, Kyle; Jackson Fleming, Molly Streit, and Dorothy Streit; her great-grandchildren, Andi Manley, Arlo Manley, Silas Manley, and Kallum Manley; her sister Charlie Dell Easdon of Cleburne; and a host of other loving family and friends.

A funeral service will be held at 10:00 AM on Wednesday, March 18, 2026, in the Crosier-Pearson Cleburne Funeral Home Chapel, located at 512 N Ridgeway Dr, Cleburne, Texas 76033. Interment will follow in the Cleburne Memorial Park Cemetery. In lieu of flowers, please consider making a memorial donation to Children’s Home of Lubbock.