Kay Estep Massengale

Kay Estep Massengale, 62, made a transition from this life to the next at Augusta Medical Center early Saturday morning, April 21, 2012. She was the beloved daughter of the late Leonard and Catherine Estep. Kay grew up in the Ft. Defiance/Mt. Sydney area, and graduated from Fort Defiance High School in 1967. She then attended Virginia Commonwealth University, where she met her former husband, George Massengale, who once upon a time stole her heart after he became the first student at VCU to publicly burn his draft card during the Vietnam War, and a few years later they were married in London, England. Kay lived for years in Hawaii, which was always her paradise, and then lived in Los Angeles, where she made some of her most cherished, lifelong friendships. Since 1989, she has lived in Staunton after coming home to take care of her aging parents.

Kay was an innovative thinker, writer and visionary who studied the deeper aspects of life, and like all great scientists and explorers, she yearned to understand how it all works. She always used her heart, skills and knowledge from her exploration to help people lead more empowered and happier lives. Kay also walked the path of peace and compassion, and used her time and resources to uplift all beings, including the tiniest creatures, animals and people. Her door was always open, and she had that special quality of being a deep listener to the many people that poured their hearts out to her.

Kay has left behind many loved ones whose lives are better because she lived. These include her beloved first cousin, Janet Wetzel, and her many friends that were like family, including James O’Neil, Dana Scott, Lee Martin, Billy Gordon, Leslie Robinson, Claire Linden, Philip Knopp, Ben Knopp, John Zyke and Betty, Jennett Ingles, Linda Thornburg, Louis Mitler, Alice Patler, Jalyn Gray, LeLe Johnson, the late Kim Craig, the late Arlene Gordon, Shannon Gray and Harold Wells, Laten and Chuck Bechtel, MacKenzie and Nahla Gray, Lila O’Neil and Mary Lou, Katie Savage, Nicholas Patler, and many others. We love her more than words can describe. Kay also cherished her four cats, Zume, Golda, Monkey and Max, along with the squirrels and wild birds that visited her house daily, all of which she devotedly loved, and fed several times a day (and she would not want us to leave out the ducks, geese and swan at Gypsy Hill Park, especially her favorite, Ray, a partially blind goose).

There will be a viewing at Reynolds Hamrick Funeral Home located at 18 West Frederick Street in Staunton, VA, Friday, April 27 from 6 to8 pm, and a graveside service at Thornrose Cemetery on Wednesday, May 2, at 2 pm. There will also be a “Kay Celebration” sometime near the end of May, which will be announced on Facebook and by email.