Kay, no one ever called her Wanda, was born on August 14th, 1935, in Heavener, OK. She was the youngest child of Richard and Janie Leach. The Leach family moved to the Phoenix area in 1947. Kay eventually found herself living next door to Paul Rademacher, and an epic love story began.
Kay and Paul were married in 1953, and the family moved from farm to farm around Arizona – such metropolises as Aguila and Willcox -- before settling in Yuma in 1973. Kay was a great mom to her five children. She instilled a love of books and a sense of imagination. Under her guidance a gnarly mesquite tree in the backyard could become a space station or pirate ship… or maybe she just wanted some peace and quiet in the house.
She worked as a retail clerk and a baker in school cafeterias over the years, but her true calling was being a grandma, and her 12 grandchildren and 15 great-grandchildren were the beneficiaries. She kept her tribe of little ones fully stocked in cinnamon rolls and chocolate chip cookies, and she turned countless cardboard boxes into grocery stores where parents had to buy back canned goods from their kids. No matter how sore her knees and back got, Kay would be on the floor with her grandchildren. For those lucky 27 children, Kay was their first best friend.
Kay is survived by son Richard and his wife Terisa of Yuma, daughter Kathy and her husband Steve Shafer of Flagstaff, daughter Diane and her husband Tom Axline of Tempe, daughter Karen and her husband Andrew Leavitt of Oshkosh, WI., and son Kevin and his wife Cheryl of North Bend, WA. She was preceded in death by Paul, her parents, Richard and Janie, and her siblings Richard, Quentin, Jewell, Sue and Joyce. Kay is missed.
A Recitation of the Holy Rosary will be held on January 2, 2025, from 7:00 pm to 9:00 pm at St. Francis of Assisi Parish, located at 1815 S. 8th Avenue, Yuma, Arizona. The Funeral Mass will take place on January 3, 2025, at 12:00 pm, also at St. Francis of Assisi Parish followed by an interment at 1:00 pm in the Garden of Meditation at Desert Lawn Memorial Park, 1415 S. First Avenue, Yuma, Arizona.
