Kathleen Elaine Kelley (Schumacher)

Kathleen Elaine Kelley passed away on March 17th, 2025 at the age of 76. Beloved mother to Scott and Heather, grandmother to Morgan, Amber, and Alex. Beloved sister to Liz and Peggy, Aunt to Sean, Christine, and Justin. Kathy, as she was known to all, was born June 17th, 1948 in Yakima, WA to Viola and Gabriel Schumacher.

For Kathy, early life was spent with family and friends. Kathy had fond memories of spending summers playing Canasta and other card games with her sisters and cousins. A passion she shared with her husband and children. She also learned that trauma not healed is inherited as a member of the post-depression generation.

Kathy was able to accomplish some note-worthy firsts in her life. First teenager in her local community of Yakima where she got hired by the local Miner’s Drive-in, during a time when it was not known for hiring teenagers for their stereotypical unreliability – different generation, same problems – and showed that stereotypes are not true. Later she achieved another first – the first woman to work on the nuclear fuel storage tank farms at the Handford site in Eastern Washington.She married Clinton Kelley in the fall of 1969. Early married life was enjoyed with her airman husband in Madrid, Spain. Where they had the opportunity to travel parts of Europe that were allowed at the time. Kathy picked up enough of the language to figure out that Castilians of Madrid speak a slightly different version due to a historic lisp. Later in her career she was able to figure out the jokes being told by some of the reception folks when she lived in Carlsbad, New Mexico for almost 2 decades. Being far from family was difficult, but nearly yearly trips to visit family during the summers were common. After her children left home and her husband passed, she moved to be closer to her family in the Boise, Idaho area. She spent many years there before circumstances required more care and assistance causing her to end up for a time in Texas with her daughter and husband, Heather and Russell, and then Utah where her sister Liz and niece, Christine and her family took care of her in her final years.Kathy had a key eye for detail and organization, whether it was in her home, her work or anything she had a passion for. She held a hidden talent for art, whether it was drawing or sewing, that was later expressed as a quilter. She participated in local clubs and donated many works and materials to charities when life left her no longer able to enjoy it. She had an ability for conversation that could keep you engaged for hours. Her laughter and love will be missed by all that knew her.

Funeral services will be held at Terrace Heights Memorial Park in Yakima, WA on May 5th, 2025 at 10:30 AM. A gathering of friends and family will occur afterwards to honor and share memories of her.