PALM SPRINGS, Calif. — Kathryn (Kay) L. LaOrange, 81, passed peacefully at home in Palm Springs on Saturday, June 21, 2014 after a courageous 14-month battle with cancer.
Kay was born on Sept. 24, 1932 to Stanley and Elizabeth Mohn at St. Rose Hospital in Great Bend.  
She attended elementary school in Ellinwood and Garden City, Kansas and in 1950 graduated from Mt. Carmel Academy, Wichita.  She went into nurse’s training and graduated from St. Rose School of Nursing in August, 1953.  On Nov. 21, 1953, she married George James (Jim) La Orange in Ellinwood. They moved to Gillette, Wyo. on June 15, 1960 where she worked as a registered nurse at Pioneer Manor for 28 years.  
Kay was very active in the Presbyterian Church of Gillette where she taught Sunday School and also served as an deacon and elder. She proudly served on the Campbell County Public Health Board for 15 years and was a Life member of Beta Sigma Phi.  Kay enjoyed knitting, making afghans, baking, gardening, golf trips and bridge. Kay wanted everyone to know that the days that she spent in Palm Springs were among the happiest of her life.  
Survivors include a son, Michael LaOrange and son-in-law Steven Burris, Palm Springs, Calif.; and a sister, Sybil Wirtz, Lakewood, Colo. She was preceded in death by her parents, her husband of 54 years Jim, and a son, Thomas Jay.
Interment to be led by the Rev. Joan Hull and will take place at Forest Lawn in Cathedral City, Calif. at 2 p.m. Saturday Sept. 27, 2014.
In lieu of flowers, the family suggests making a donation in her name to the American Cancer Society.
 
Funeral arrangements provided by
Wiefels Cremation & Funeral Services*
690 S. Vella Road
Palm Springs, CA, 92264
Great Bend Tribune, June 29, 2014