Kathryn “Kay” Lynn Eskew
October 3, 1948 – July 14, 2021
Miss Kathryn Lynn Eskew, age 72, of Manassas, Virginia passed away Wednesday, July 14, 2021 at Birmingham Green Health Care Center in Manassas, Virginia. She was born in McCook, Nebraska on Oct. 3, 1948, and was adopted by Virgil “Bud” Milton and Viela “June” (Fleming) Eskew when she was 3 days old.
Kay’s younger years were spent in Imperial where she went to school through fifth grade (1958) with her best friend, Penny (Hill) Teply.
The family moved to Lincoln in 1959 when her dad, Bud, became the director of the USDA office. During this time, Kay attended school at Lincoln Southeast High School. In 1962, they moved to Washington D.C. where her father worked with the Department of Agriculture.
Kay was a 1967 graduate of Wakefield High School in Arlington, Virginia. She attended George Mason College in Virginia.
Kay chose to stay in Virginia when her parents moved to Denver, Colorado in 1970. She worked at Peoples Drug Store for a time. Her close friend and companion, Bobby Wyecoff, died in 1985.
Kay struggled through the years with seizures and other problems related to schizophrenia. She eventually moved into Community Residences in Arlington, Virginia, where she had many friends, especially in the business community where she brightened everyone’s day with her sense of humor.
Following her time at Community Residences, she was hospitalized and eventually moved to Birmingham Green in 2010. She received great care from the staff on the Cardinal Heights team and from her guardians, Cheryl and Hillary.
When feeling well, she enjoyed being around people and brought joy to others around her. Kay loved music, dancing and singing. As a child, she did ballet, and she played the piano up through high school. She talked about how she enjoyed dancing because it made her feel free. Now she is free and can sing and dance to her favorite songs, “You Are My Sunshine” and “Jesus Loves Me”!
She was preceded in death by her parents (her father in 1985 and mother in 2011); a cousin, Richard A. Myers (2016); many aunts and uncles.
Survivors include her Virginia family: Guardians Cheryl Johnson and Hillary Rodak, the Birmingham Green Cardinal Heights team and nurse, Melba, who set up facetime every week; her Nebraska cousins: Cheri (Jerry) Beckenhauer of Papillion, who facetimed with her weekly, Steven and Billy Myers of Provincetown, Massachusettes, Jolene Myers of Lafayette, Colorado; Bob (wife Monica) Myers of Madison, Wisconsin, Brock (wife Lori) Myers of Longmont, Colorado; Lynette (husband Michael) Holloway, Scott (wife Michalene) Beckenhauer of Papillion and Lisa (husband Daniel) Pomajzl of Seward.
Memorials are suggested to Birmingham Green Health Care Center, 8605 Centreville Road Manassas, VA 20110.
Graveside service and interment were Monday, July 19 at Mount Hope Cemetery, Imperial.
Carpenter Breland Funeral Home, McCook, was entrusted with the arrangements. An online family guest book may be signed at www.carpenterbreland.com.