A true Southern Matriarch and excellent cook who hosted big family events, especially at the holidays, sweets were a given, with fresh baked cookies, cakes and a full candy jar! A consummate homemaker and mother as well as an accomplished seamstress, she made beautiful party dresses for her younger sisters, daughter, and granddaughters; and even a wedding gown. She also enjoyed knitting and made sweaters with intricate designs and scenes for her family.
Kathryn was also a talented artist, and avid tennis player. She studied painting and produced oils and watercolors, many of which are displayed in friends and family’s homes. She spent many happy hours on the tennis courts at the Lake Charles Racquet Club with her tennis team and enjoyed fun lunches afterwards. She water skied all her life and learned to snow ski in her 40s, skiing in Colorado with family or a group of girlfriends.
She had a green thumb and could grow anything. Her patio and courtyard where beautifully landscaped and tended and she could often be found sitting on her patio watching the birds in her backyard.
She was born and raised on a farm in Iowa, Louisiana to Ben Lewis Pugh, Sr. and Elsie Wait Pugh on February 12, 1932. She was one of four children and had an older brother, Ben Lewis Pugh, Jr. and two younger sisters, Doris Pugh Clifton and Carolyn Faye Decell. In Iowa she met her husband, Raymond Keith Findley, and they married and moved to Lake Charles with their two young sons, Ken and Kevin, in 1958. Throughout their married life Kathryn and Keith were active members of University United Methodist Church and after Keith’s death, Kathryn joined St. Luke Simpson United Methodist Church.
Kathryn loved to travel and spent many summers with her husband and children in Florida. In later years, she went on an Alaskan cruise with friends, went to Cozumel with her children and grandchildren, snow skiing in Colorado, traveled to Yellowstone and Jackson Hole to see the park and the Grand Tetons, and flew to Germany twice to visit her granddaughter, Mandi. The highlight of her travels was a two-week trip to Alaska in 2010 where she generously hosted her entire family – thirteen in all, on a spectacular cruise and overland journey.
Kathryn was very supportive of and involved in all her children's activities from baseball, swim team, cheerleading, ballet, and barbershopping to re-building car engines with her son Kevin. She was happiest with her family and loved being with her grandchildren, Mandi, Kendall and Keith; and her great-grandchildren, Dylan, Drew and Hudson. She will be greatly missed.
She is survived by her son, R. Ken Findley and his wife Linda of Lake Charles, LA; daughter, Kari E. Findley and her husband, Ken Sill of Houston, TX; three grandchildren, Amanda Findley Diamond, Kendall Alexandra Sill, Keith Findley Sill; three great grandchildren, Dylan Keith Meyers, Drew Scott Meyers, Hudson Blake Diamond; and a step grandson, Andy Shelton and wife Sarah and their twins, Caroline and William.
Kathryn was preceded in death by her husband, Raymond Keith Findley; son, Kevin Lane Findley; brother, Ben Lewis Pugh, Jr; along with two younger sisters, Doris Pugh Clifton and Carolyn Faye Decell.
Funeral Services will be at Hixson Funeral Home of Lake Charles on Sunday, August 25, 2019 at 1:00pm, with Dr. John Robert Black officiating. The funeral home is located at 3001 Ryan Street in Lake Charles. Visitation will be at Hixson Funeral Home of Lake Charles on Saturday, August 24, 2019 from 6:00pm to 8:30pm. Visitation will resume at the funeral home on Sunday, from 12:00pm until the time of the service. Interment will follow at Pine Hill Cemetery in Iowa, LA, officiated by Rev. Amy Castro. In lieu of flowers, memorials may be made in Kathryn’s name to the Alzheimer’s Association or St. Luke Simpson United Methodist Church. Words of comfort may be shared with the family at www.hixsonfuneralhomes.com.
